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BOSTON – Rapid COVID-19 antigen tests are already available at local schools and health boards, but doctors say if we are to get out of this pandemic they must be available to everyone for free.
Take the case of Cameron Thompson, who is from Atlanta and is going to visit a friend whose 18 month old child is showing some symptoms. Thompson is in town for two more days and wouldn’t have had time to wait for a free PCR test, so instead he opened his wallet.
“They were $ 40 a test and I just bought four of them, so I spent $ 160 just to find out if we can hang out with friends,” Thompson said.
Fortunately, he has the money to do it, but a lot of people don’t.
“If we had had rapid tests last year, we wouldn’t be where we are now,” said associate chairman of pathology at Newton Wellesley Hospital, Dr Michael Misialek.
Misialek was one of 250 signatures on the letter from state representative Dr Tami Gouveia to the governor to make testing free to quickly reopen the company. Instead, they wait patiently.
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“I think it’s the logistics and just the business of how we could roll out a rapid antigen testing program,” Gouveia said. “In other countries, they send residents two tests per week to their homes so that they can test themselves and then decide whether or not to go out to public places and the like. They do it in schools like in the state of California.
Dr Gouveia said there is now interest in using this letter as a model nationally.
“Vaccines are free after a certain age for just about everyone and there are still naysayers,” Thompson said. “They are always naysayers, people who are keen on wearing a mask, but I really think making it available to everyone is better than not.”
If you’re wondering about the costs, Dr Gouveia said Massachusetts spent only about half of the $ 9 billion in federal funds. She said wholesale prices and local manufacturers could allow the state to order tests for around $ 5. She said spending money now saves us money in the long run as it could end unnecessary quarantines.
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