- Jen Psaki expressed regret over the way she responded to a question about sending Americans COVID-19 tests for free.
- "There's not a day that goes by that I don't leave this podium and wish I would've said something with greater context," Psaki said.
- The Biden administration announced plans to buy 500 million at-home testing kits to send to Americans.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Tuesday expressed regret over the way she responded to a question earlier this month about sending Americans COVID-19 tests for free.
"There's not a day that goes by that I don't leave this podium and wish I would've said something with greater context or more precision or additional information," Psaki said during Tuesday's press briefing. "That day, there was a lot of good questioning on testing, and during that briefing I conveyed a lot of information about our expansion of testing, about the 50 million tests that we were making available, about the 20,000 free testing sites. And should I have included that additional context again in that answer? Yes, going back I wish I would've done that."
Psaki's comments come in response to a press briefing on December 6, when NPR reporter Mara Liasson asked about making COVID-19 tests completely free and available everywhere in the United States.
The federal government's goal is to "continue to increase accessibility and decrease costs," Psaki replied. But when Liasson pressed Psaki again, the press secretary appeared to reply sarcastically, triggering criticism from experts and doctors.
"Should we just send one to every American?" Psaki asked. "Then what — then what happens if you — if every American has one test? How much does that cost, and then what happens after that?"
"I think we share the same objective, which is to make them less expensive and more accessible," she added.
"Actually stunned by this response by the @PressSec @WHCOVIDResponse @WhiteHouse," Rick Bright, CEO of the Rockefeller Foundation, tweeted. "We should remove all access barriers to rapid tests. They're too expensive, in short supply & adding extra insurance barriers isn't the answer. Yes, mail them to all Americans."
Psaki's statement on Tuesday comes as the Biden administration unveiled plans to purchase 500 million at-home COVID-19 testing kits that will be delivered at no cost to Americans who request them. This marks a new step in the administration's strategy to help combat the rapid uptick of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country.
President Joe Biden made clear on Tuesday that despite the spread of the Omicron variant in the US, there are no plans to return to statewide lockdowns given the increase in vaccination rates.
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