随着新冠肺炎(新型冠状病毒肺炎)资金枯竭，国会没有注入新的现金，拜登政府表示，将暂停提供免费家庭快速检测穿过COVID.gov。
该计划将于本周晚些时候暂停。
联邦网站上的一条横幅警告称:“通过该计划订购将于9月2日星期五暂停，因为国会没有提供额外的资金来补充国家的测试库存。”美国邮政服务的免费测试页也提到了该计划即将停止。
一名高级政府官员告诉美国广播公司，暂停该计划的举措是“为了保护我们有限的剩余供应”，特别是为了在未来几个月内可能出现的新一波病毒席卷该国的情况下进行储备，“这样我们就可以确保在秋季提供有限的检测，届时我们可能会面临新的感染上升和更迫切的需求。”
“奥巴马政府清楚我们应对新冠肺炎疫情的紧急资金需求。我们已经发出警告，国会的不作为将迫使我们做出不可接受的交易，并损害我们对新冠肺炎的整体准备和反应，而且随着时间的推移，后果可能会恶化，”这位高级政府官员说。
“我们也很清楚，未能提供准备好的资源将意味着，如果以后出现激增，美国纳税人的成本将会更高。不幸的是，由于我们的资金有限，我们不得不在投资哪些工具和项目上做出不可能的选择，以及哪些工具和项目我们必须缩小规模、暂停或完全终止，”这位官员说。
这位高级政府官员说，在今年年初乔·拜登总统承诺确保的10亿次免费测试中，迄今为止已有超过6亿次测试通过COVID.gov/tests,分发，为“每个家庭”提供了在政府向公众开放的三轮订单中获得总共16次测试的“机会”。
这位高级官员补充说，政府“将继续在其有限的现有资源范围内努力，尽可能确保更多的测试。”
“国会没有提供我们需要的COVID资金来补充国家的测试库存，就这么简单，”白宫新闻秘书郭佳欣·让-皮埃尔周一说。“这是我们被迫采取的行动，将有助于保护我们有限的剩余供应。”
通过该计划的订单将于周五停止。
与此同时，测试仍将在15，000个联邦支持的社区站点进行，如当地药店和图书馆。政府官员说，有合格保险的美国人仍然可以通过他们的私人健康保险、医疗保险和医疗补助报销在家测试的费用。
“此外，政府继续通过一些方案确保公平获得测试，包括直接向长期护理机构、学校、儿童保育和早期学习中心分发免费测试，社区健康中心和食物银行，”这位高级官员说。
乔·拜登总统在华盛顿艾森豪威尔行政办公楼南法庭礼堂就新冠肺炎疫情应对和疫苗接种发表讲话...显示更多undefined
华盛顿邮报通过盖蒂图片，文件
“如果国会提供资金，我们将通过[COVID.gov/tests]迅速恢复免费测试的分发，”该官员说。“在此之前，我们认为将剩余的测试保留到今年晚些时候发布是最好的选择。”
整个春季，立法者未能为该计划获得额外的100亿美元资金。
时任新闻秘书的珍·普萨基(Jen Psaki)在4月份表示，“由于缺乏资金，为医生、药剂师和其他提供者为未参保者接种疫苗提供补偿的项目不得不在今天结束。美国供应的能有效阻止人们进入医院的单克隆抗体最早将于5月下旬告罄。我们的测试制造能力将在6月底开始下降，”他补充说，参议院当时未能获得额外资金的投票是“我们应对这种病毒的能力的倒退。”
民主党誓言今年秋天将继续争取额外的资金。参议院拨款委员会主席，佛蒙特州的帕特·莱希在7月下旬提出了一项210亿美元的紧急拨款法案，并发誓-与小组合著者帕蒂·默里，D-Wash。和克里斯·库恩斯。-争取今年通过。
Feds' free COVID-19 test program to halt this week due to lack of funding
WithCOVID-19funding drying up and no fresh cash infusion from Congress, the Biden administration says it will suspend its offer offree at-home rapid teststhrough COVID.gov.
The program will be put on pause later this week.
"Ordering through this program will be suspended on Friday, September 2, because Congress hasn't provided additional funding to replenish the nation's stockpile of tests," a banner alert on the federal website said. The U.S. Postal Service's free test page also noted the impending halt to the program.
A senior administration official told ABC that the move to pause the program is "to preserve our limited remaining supply" -- particularly, to have a reserve in case a potential new wave of the virus sweeps the country in the coming months -- "so that we can ensure we have a limited supply of tests available in the fall, when we might face a new rise in infections and more acute need."
"The administration has been clear about our urgent COVID-19 response funding needs. We have warned that congressional inaction would force unacceptable trade-offs and harm our overall COVID-19 preparedness and response -- and that the consequences would likely worsen over time," the senior administration official said.
"We were also clear that failing to provide resources to be prepared would mean that if a surge were to come later, the cost to the American taxpayer would be even higher. Unfortunately, because of the limited funding we have to work with, we have had to make impossible choices about which tools and programs to invest in -- and which ones we must downsize, pause or end altogether," the official said.
Of the 1 billion free tests President Joe Biden pledged to secure at the beginning of this year, so far more than 600 million tests have been distributed through COVID.gov/tests, the senior administration official said, offering "every household" the "opportunity" to get a total of 16 tests in the three rounds of orders that the government opened up to the public.
The senior official added that the administration "will continue to work within its limited existing resources to secure as many additional tests as we can."
"Congress hasn't provided the COVID funding we need to replenish the nation's stockpiles of tests, as simple as that," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday. "This is an action we've been forced to take that will help preserve our limited remaining supply."
Orders through the program will cease on Friday.
Meanwhile, tests will still be distributed at 15,000 federally supported, community-based sites such as local pharmacies and libraries. Americans with eligible insurance can also still be reimbursed for at-home tests through their private health insurance, Medicare and Medicaid, the administration official said.
"In addition, the administration continues to ensure equitable access to tests through a number of programs, including free tests distributed directly to long-term care facilities, schools, child care and early learning centers,community health centersand food banks," the senior official said.
"If Congress provides funding, we will expeditiously resume distribution of free tests through [COVID.gov/tests]," the official said. "Until then, we believe reserving the remaining tests for distribution later this year is the best course."
Over the course of the spring, lawmakers failed to secure an additional $10 billion in funding for the program.
Then-press secretary Jen Psaki said in April, "The program that reimbursed doctors, pharmacists and other providers for vaccinating the uninsured had to end today due to a lack of funds. America's supply of monoclonal antibodies that are effective at keeping people out of the hospital will run out as soon as late May. Our test manufacturing capacity will begin ramping down at the end of June," adding that the failed Senate vote to secure additional funding at the time was "a step backward for our ability to respond to this virus."
Democrats have vowed to continue the fight for additional funding this fall. The chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Pat Leahy of Vermont, introduced a $21 billion emergency funding bill in late July and has vowed -- along with panel co-authors Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Chris Coons, D-Del. -- to get it passed this year.
