ou think we used to know it. you have said you think the we used to know it. you have said you think the system we used to know it. you have said you think the system being - we used to know it. you have said l you think the system being complex is almost more of an issue than the money, the factor in terms of paying for tests, and the system is not going to be a less complicated, is that, going forward, just a different cheaper test you can get? absolutely, it doesn t take out the complexities. what it does take out, if you have taken a pcr test up until today, which you administer at home so it is a self swab at home, you would have to physically put that into the post or taken to the post office. but what has been announced today or is in place that you don t have to take that extra step so you can self it must home and then you do either a video call or you send a text to the provider. it takes a very marginal complexity out but it is the overall complexity of the system and th
quality of the mask you wear. masks will become optional. encouraged in certain settings based on what the prevalence of infection is and vaccination rate and an environment with vulnerable people. dana: there is also this question about testing and why we are so far behind. the new york times wrote where are the tests? other countries are awash in covid tests, the u.s. is not. when you look back, scott, the president said in january 4th, 2021 it would be a focus and it has not been. why? look, this is a big focus of the book. i talk a lot about our ability to turn to manufacturers early to get tests in the markets. right now we have testing in the market, we just don t have the tests that are convenient for consumers to use. a lot of tests consumers want to use are home tests to self-swab and get a diagnoses. those are the tests running out.
society? well, the testing will move as we up the capacity so that the people who have the symptoms are, have been around somebody who tested positive, they ll get it sent to their home. we got the fda to approve a thing called self-swab where you don t need a medical person to do that, and it s, it s got still the high accuracy. we know the american people can do this. i think it s been really impressive to see how much people, i ll say specifically because we re here in seattle. but how quickly, as soon as the governor said and the health department said we should all start to work from home, you know, we can see the bridge from our house, and there are very few people going across that bridge in a car. and so i think people will need to realize that they need to do the right thing. yeah, melinda, i think you re absolutely right. i think americans deserve a lot of credit in this because they did listen to the warnings and they have stayed home, and i think they re just looking
athletes getting tests? do the well connected go to the front of the line? you have to ask them that question. i ve read no, i wouldn t say so. but perhaps that s been the story of life. that does happen on occasion. reporter: the federal government, working to expedite so-called self swab testing kits to protect health care workers. the kits could be sent home, where a patient would do a simple nose swab. a tech would then pick up a sealed sample. considered less intrusive than the current test. a process the president himself has experienced. i can tell you, because i did it, but we have a current process that is a little bit difficult. reporter: across the country, people waiting for hours to be tested, and then days for results. i m just getting worse and worse. reporter: fahimeh jamali has been home sick for nearly two weeks with her husband and daughter, desperate for a test. i am because last night my breathing just stopped and i just used this.