How to do that? Proposals range from making vaccinations and negative Covid tests mandatory to board domestic flights to renewing the preventive behaviors recommended since the start of the pandemic, such as washing hands frequently, wearing masks in enclosed public spaces, avoiding crowds and keeping windows open for ventilation.
“We have been through this many, many times,” said Alessandro Vespignani, director of the Network Science Institute at Northeastern University in Boston. “At this point we know that there is a portfolio of interventions that can be layered on top of each other.”
Experts have recommended distributing free, high-quality masks alongside rapid tests, and creating a robust public educational campaign to ensure that people know how and when to use those tests.
Hundreds of public health experts, aerosol scientists, heath providers and advocates signed a letter Monday urging the federal government to encourage the wearing of masks indoors regardless of vaccination status, saying the precaution can be swiftly implemented and is highly effective.
The Biden administration plans to provide 500 million free rapid tests to Americans — a good start, experts said. But the tests are only expected to be available in January, after many experts fear the Omicron surge will be well underway, and the number is likely to be insufficient, as tests are intended to be used frequently.
People will also have to use a website to request the free tests. At the moment, retail outlets in cities like New York have run out of rapid tests, so many Americans cannot easily get a diagnosis before a gathering or a flight.
“People right now are having to work too hard to do the things that are necessary to prevent infection and transmission,” said Bertha Hidalgo, an epidemiologist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health.
Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/21/health/omicron-covid-biden-scientists.html
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