This is from the American Medical Association sent to all physician members:
The Washington Post (3/2, Abutaleb, Sun, Diamond, Shepherd) reports, “The White House unveiled a new pandemic road map on Wednesday that calls for better surveillance of new variants and dispensing antiviral pills ‘on the spot’ when someone tests positive, but rules out school and business closings.” This plan “is part of a broader White House strategy to move the country from crisis footing and convince Americans that their lives can return to normal.” (THE WASHINGTON POST LINK–ABOVE–IS VERY GOOD—-PG)
The AP (3/2, Miller) says the availability of a COVID-19 antiviral pill is key to the administration’s new “test-to-treat” plan, which “would initially roll out in hundreds of pharmacies across the country, including CVS, Walgreens, and Kroger locations, and would soon expand beyond that.” However, the plan will run into severe staffing concerns at pharmacies that are “already doling out vaccines, prescriptions and health advice are worried about the extra time needed if they add more COVID-19 testing and treating.”
The Wall Street Journal (3/2, Armour, Abbott, Subscription Publication) says the approach marks a shift from pandemic response to disease management.
Be alert for announcements about at-home COVID tests which may contain a toxic substance–made in China.