opposed to rapid tests has been misguided, from a public health standpoint is not whether you have the virus but whether you are spreading it to others. rapid antigen tests determine that pretty quickly. compared to europe tests in the united states cost way more and are far less widely available. similarly, we should make widely available cheap, high-quality masks. german's leading virologist recently said omicron could become the first post-pandemic covid variant, which would like make the disease an endemic one, not so lethal and one we will live with like the flu. we cannot be sure of this because with so many unvaccinated people, about 26% of americans still have not received even one dose, the virus still has lots of space in which it can replicate and thus mutate. but it does seem that at least for now for the vaccinated majority, the post-pandemic