A Covid Testing Crisis, Again

<p>By the end of last year, if you needed a coronavirus test, you could get one. But when vaccines arrived, focus shifted.</p><p>Many of the vaccinated felt like they didn’t need tests and demand took a nosedive. Testing sites were closed or converted into vaccination sites. And Abbott Laboratories, a major test manufacturer, wound up destroying millions.</p><p>However, with the surge of the new Omicron variant, which is less susceptible to vaccines, demand for testing is back — and it is outstripping supply.</p><p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/sheryl-gay-stolberg?smid=pc-thedaily">Sheryl Gay Stolberg</a>, a Washington correspondent, covering health policy for The New York Times.</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/signup/NTTD?smid=pc-thedaily">Sign up here</a> to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/the-daily?module=inline">subscribe to our newsletter</a>. </p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li>President Biden came into office vowing to make coronavirus testing cheap and accessible, but<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/17/us/politics/us-covid-tests-omicron.html"> matching supply with demand has been a persistent problem</a>.</li></ul><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily">nytimes.com/thedaily</a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. </p>