"We need to secure additional supply now... now," President Joe Biden stressed. "We can't wait until we find ourselves in the midst of another surge to act."
That was back in late March, when the president was pleading with Congress to ok more than $22 billion in new COVID -related spending ahead of a potential fall surge. But now, the administration says it's putting the brakes on the free test program due to a lack of funding.
And while the free tests could come back should Congress re-up its support, a senior White House official told media outlets for now the remaining tests will be kept in reserve for a potential fall spike. But there's still a chance to order before the program is suspended Friday.
Meanwhile, the pandemic news in Kentucky remains mixed. The governor's weekly updates have been notably brief in recent weeks, with reports of a potential plateauing of new cases while large swathes of the state — including Fayette County — remain in the red zone.
New bivalent COVID booster shots, meant to target both the original strain and new subvariants, could be approved by the FDA as early as this week.
