Kim Schrier: “I am so proud of the wins in the American Rescue Plan, and in particular with what this means for America's children. As…”

“I am so proud of the wins in the American Rescue Plan, and in particular with what this means for America's children. As a pediatrician, my life's work has been the health and the wellbeing of children. This pandemic has been particularly hard for children and families. The most important thing we can do to bring relief to our communities is to end the pandemic. This means getting shots into as many arms as possible as quickly as we can. It also means taking steps now to ensure that when children return to the classroom, our schools and our small businesses can stay safe and stay open. Testing is key to keeping our schools and workplaces safe. And, frankly, we have not used testing in a way that significantly curbs the spread of this disease. Rapid home testing, in particular, is a critical public health tool that we have yet to really deploy. And there is funding in the American rescue package to support more strategic widespread testing. Rapid tests can give results in about 15 minutes, and they can be done at home. Imagine testing in the morning before brushing your teeth. By the time you are done with breakfast you would have a result. If positive, you would stay home and avoid spreading coronavirus to others. This is how we break the chain of transmission and starve the virus. What we need now is to get these tests evaluated, approved, scaled up and priced such that everyone can use them two to three times a week.…”