Coronavirus weekly need-to-know: another round of free COVID tests, FDA warning & more

In the United States, more than 79.2 million people have tested positive for coronavirus as of Saturday, March 5, according to Johns Hopkins University as cases continue to go down.

To date, more than 958,000 Americans have died. Worldwide, there have been more than 444 million confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Additionally, over 5.9 million have died from the virus globally. Nearly 216 million people in the U.S. are fully vaccinated as of March 4 — 65% of the population — and 94 million of those people have gotten a booster shot, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.

Currently, “more than 90% of the U.S. population is in a location with low or medium COVID-19 Community Level,” the agency says, as of March 3. This means roughly 10% of Americans reside in an area with a high COVID-19 Community level. For them, it’s recommended to wear a mask while indoors in public

The CDC reports the weekly average of COVID-19 cases have dropped nationwide as of Feb. 23. Cases are 37.7% lower compared to the prior week’s average, according to the agency’s data tracking. The omicron variant continues to dominate positive U.S. cases, including its subvariants, the week ending Feb. 26.

Here’s what happened between Feb. 27 and March:

What is ‘Test to Treat’? White House unveils free COVID testing and treatment combo

What is “Test to Treat”?

A new White House initiative unveiled during the president’s State of the Union address on Tuesday, March 1 promises to make COVID-19 treatment — not just testing — more accessible than ever.

The plan calls for pharmacies, clinics and community health centers to provide antiviral pills “on the spot” to patients who test positive for the coronavirus; all at no charge.

It’s being made possible thanks to a large order of the antiviral treatment, Paxlovid, manufactured by Pfizer, President Joe Biden said.

Continue reading below:

A majority of kids in the US have had COVID, CDC says. What does this mean?

An estimated 140 million people in the United States have been infected with the coronavirus, according to data shared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Researchers evaluated nearly 72,000 blood samples to estimate the number of infections. The data, which goes through late January, reflects the increase in infections that occurred as the omicron variant began to spread throughout the country.

According to the data, the CDC estimates that a majority of the country’s children have had the virus at some point – nearly 60% of people 17 and under have been infected so far, in comparison with about 43% of the country as a whole.

For more on the study’s findings, keep reading:

Dreaming of a Hawaii vacation? You’ll no longer need proof of a COVID vaccine or test

Hawaii is dropping its COVID-19 travel restrictions for those in the U.S. dreaming of a tropical getaway.

Proof of vaccination and a negative COVID-19 test won’t be needed for domestic travelers as of March 26 to enter the state, Gov. David Ige announced March 1.

The quarantine requirement is also ending for travelers without vaccine proof or a negative test. The state’s indoor mask mandate will remain in place “for now,” Ige said.

The upcoming update to Hawaii’s Safe Travels program comes after Ige discussed a potential plan to start requiring booster shots for incoming U.S. travelers in late January, McClatchy News reported.

Keep reading below:

Dad, police lieutenant dies of COVID in Oklahoma. ‘Father that all fathers should be’

Police Lt. Brandon Owens was also an Army veteran and a dad of girls when he died of COVID-19 complications, Oklahoma officials say.

He died Tuesday, March 1, after a “long, very hard fight” with the viral disease, according to the Union City Police Department. Owens had been in an intensive care unit since Jan. 8, KOKH reported.

Officials did not say whether Owens was vaccinated against the coronavirus.

“There are no words to express our heartbreak,” the department shared to Facebook that evening.

The story continues below:

No, CDC didn’t just say to wear mask in case of nuclear explosion. Here are the facts

In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, some social media users are claiming the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had just advised wearing a face mask in the event of a nuclear explosion.

No, this isn’t new guidance issued by the agency. However, the CDC did make that recommendation in 2018, well before the COVID-19 pandemic and current Russian invasion.

Here’s why:

Don’t use these 3 unauthorized COVID tests, FDA warns. You might get a false result

There are three COVID-19 tests distributed in the U.S. to avoid and if you already have any of them, don’t use them, the Food and Drug Administration is warning of the unauthorized tests.

The agency “is concerned about the risk of false results when using” all three, it said on Tuesday, March 1, about certain COVID-19 antigen tests by companies Celltrion, ACON Laboratories and SD Biosensor. Each company has issued their own recalls for their particular kits.

Avoid the Celltrion DiaTrust COVID-19 Ag Rapid Test found in bright green and white packaging and the ACON Laboratories Flowflex SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Rapid Test (Self-Testing) found in a dark blue box, the FDA says. Additionally, don’t use SD Biosensor Inc. STANDARD Q COVID-19 Ag Home Test found in a white and magenta box.

Continue reading for more information on the COVID-19 tests:

You can get another round of free COVID tests from the government. Here’s how and when

Another round of free COVID-19 test kits will soon be available to order online.

U.S. residents who already ordered the at-home tests will be able to request more starting next week, President Joe Biden said during his State of the Union address on March 1.

The update comes after the federal government in January launched an effort allowing each U.S. household to place an order that consists of four test kits. The U.S. Postal Service has been delivering the orders.

For more, keep reading:

Reporters Mitchell Willetts, Vandana Ravikumar, Kaitlyn Alanis, and Simone Jasper also contributed to this report.

This story was originally published March 4, 2022 at 7:06 AM with the headline "Coronavirus weekly need-to-know: another round of free COVID tests, FDA warning & more."

Julia Marnin

McClatchy DC

Julia Marnin covers courts for McClatchy News, writing about criminal and civil affairs, including cases involving policing, corrections, civil liberties, fraud, and abuses of power. As a reporter on McClatchy’s National Real-Time Team, she’s also covered the COVID-19 pandemic and a variety of other topics since joining in 2021, following a fellowship with Newsweek. Born in Biloxi, Mississippi, she was raised in South Jersey and is now based in New York State.