The federal government was never going to be able to “stop the virus,” but there were things it could do. It could help ease the way for therapeutics and support vaccinations efforts. It could assist in easing the way for manufacturing of rapid tests. In June of 2020, Biden right-hand man Ron Klain complained that, “Testing still isn’t fixed. Testing still isn’t fixed. Testing still isn’t fixed. We are the richest country on Earth, and we don’t have enough SWABS. Testing still isn’t fixed. Testing still isn’t fixed.” He was right. It started with the CDC’s sending out contaminated tests and holding up authorizing the private sector to produce them.
And then in March, Biden signed the $1.9 trillion Covid-relief bill (this on top of trillions more in spending), which allocated, in proportion, very little to to fighting the spread of the disease. The bill was largely a Democratic Party boondoggle. But one of the few useful things it did was appropriate $48 billion “to support the development, manufacturing, procurement, distribution, and administration of SARS-CoV-2 tests and supplies.”
Yes, anti-gouging laws and people overtesting are contributing to the problem. But more than a year — and many trillions — later and Americans still can’t get their hands on tests. It’s a scandal.