COVID-19 tests come too late

Last week, the Biden administration announced that 67 million U.S. households ordered at-home COVID-19 tests through a government website in January. Ten million have yet to receive their tests — more than a month after the site launched.

In many parts of the country, the omicron wave has already receded. Daily cases dropped by more than 40% nationwide between the second and third week of February. One analysis estimates that 73% of the population is now immune to omicron. Even the bluest states are rolling back vaccination and masking requirements. So those tests are arriving just in time to be filed away at the back of the medicine cabinet.