Former FDA commissioner suggests every household have a supply of at-home COVID-19 tests

Rapid, at-home COVID-19 testing could be key for Americans going forward, especially with the holiday season swiftly approaching and younger children not yet eligible for vaccination, former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb told CBS News' Margaret Brennan on Sunday's edition of Face the Nation.
The White House recently announced last week that it's purchasing $1 billion-worth of at-home tests, which Gottlieb argued is the right call. "I think every household should have a supply of at-home tests," Gottlieb told Brennan. "That's what they're doing in the U.K."
However, he acknowledged that price will likely be a concern for many people, since the tests are not cheap. With that in mind, he believes the federal government "could be doing a lot more to subsidize the availability of those tests," including potentially distributing them in the Medicaid program. The good news is that "it looks to be what the Biden administration is aiming to do," Gottlieb said. Watch the clip below.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
The Week contest: Tornado wedding
Puzzles and Quizzes
-
Real estate: A turning point for home prices?
Feature After soaring prices and bidding wars, homebuyers finally have the upper hand
-
Marfa, Texas: Big skies, fine art, and great eating
Feature A cozy neighborhood spot, a James Beard semifinalists, and more
-
Kennedy ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory panel
speed read Health Secretary RFK Jr. is a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has criticized the panel of experts
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kids
Speed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
-
New FDA chiefs limit Covid-19 shots to elderly, sick
speed read The FDA set stricter approval standards for booster shots
-
US overdose deaths plunged 27% last year
speed read Drug overdose still 'remains the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-44,' said the CDC
-
Trump seeks to cut drug prices via executive order
speed read The president's order tells pharmaceutical companies to lower prescription drug prices, but it will likely be thrown out by the courts
-
RFK Jr.: A new plan for sabotaging vaccines
Feature The Health Secretary announced changes to vaccine testing and asks Americans to 'do your own research'
-
RFK Jr. visits Texas as 2nd child dies from measles
Speed Read An outbreak of the vaccine-preventable disease continues to grow following a decade of no recorded US measles deaths
-
Shingles vaccine cuts dementia risk, study finds
Speed Read Getting vaccinated appears to significantly reduce the chances of developing Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia