Testing Demand News Today

Cars in line this. testing site actually switching to appointments only after just a few days ago there was a line that went all the way in the street. almost 100 cars that was blocking traffic and had to get the police involved to manage it. now they have moved to appointment only. so it is move pretty quickly here because of that structure. but it is still days until folks can get an appointment. if you signed on today, sometimes, two, three, four-day waits to get there. i spoke with a man in ...

We appreciate it. liz, let me start with you on this one and just kind of walk me through whats happening in north carolina, seeing some of the highest numbers throughout this pandemic so far. folks scrambling to get tested as were returning from holiday break. what are you seeing? >> reporter: well, that really goes hand-in-hand, this testing demand is at an all-time high and more and more of those tests are coming back positive in north carolina alone, more than 1.5 million cases now since the...

Is hitting a ramping up testing capacity. and i think theyre doubling down now on the efforts to open new testing sites by the federal government, to make sure, as you -- mailing tests home, getting them to community health centers, making sure that pharmacies have them available. so its really the surge of omicron that has created suddenly this crunch of testing demand. but i think were up to the task. the biden administration absolutely knows that true. i think we also, jake have to make sure ...

Smith family testing positive. 19-month-old vinny, still too young for the shot, got very sick. his family struggling to find an open bed at the local hospital. >> there didnt seem to be enough people to help everyone that needed it. >> reporter: in texas, 27-year-old mother crystal hernandez was not vaccinated when she died of covid complications less than two weeks after the birth of her sixth child. >> i wish i would have hugged her tighter and held her longer before i let her walk through th...

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And antonio hilton in cambridge, massachusetts. heidi, what does it look like there as they consider how to get back to school? >> reporter: with this announcement yesterday, willie, by new york city theyll try to send all kids back in person its a preview of whats happening in new york, like washington, chicago, l.a., weve taken a survey, looked at a survey, willie, and many, many of these big urban schools will try to send kids back in person with additional testing. here is the challenge to t...

Earlier today. and so while they do have that plan to send those 500 million tests to americans who request them beginning next month theres a clear acknowledgment of what is an obvious failure to meet that testing demand right now around the holiday season and with omicron cases surging around the country. but also today, president biden authorizing the use of stafford act to use emergency funds so that hhs can stand up more testing sites in partnership with state and local governments across t...

Than 900 for the u.s. and delays are also happening. were seeing more than 5,300 delays. that omicron variant is really to blame here. the airline saying that airline workers are calling in sick or saying theyve been exposed to covid-19. that caused this increase in testing demand. one of the folks that we talked to hours ago just now getting to the front of the line. we were table to speak to some people in line. lets have a listen to what they had to say. >> figured we needed to be here early ...

Convinced that this will take some time. >> reporter: now, a lot of the criticism here is not just about the quantity of testing, but it is about developing a more aggressive strategy. for example, pills that treat covid may be available in the near future, but they need to be taken within a few days of showing symptoms. so dr. mina is advising the government get tests placed in the homes of vulnerable people to catch those cases. to get them medicine, and, erica, to possibly save lives. in this...

Health officials at the American Family Field site say Wednesday was the busiest day in months.