For the United States, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) testing is here to stay. The White House’s “Path out of the Pandemic” announcement on September 10, 2021 calls for increased access to COVID-19 testing and testing programs, including for schools and for employees of businesses larger than 100 people who are not vaccinated (1). To increase the availability of tests, the Defense Production Act has been invoked by the administration to increase manufacturing, free pharmacy testing has been expanded, and home rapid antigen tests will be sold at reduced prices by major retailers. This plan is a welcomed ramp-up of testing capacity, which will help to address current shortages of tests and long delays in getting test results. It will be important, however, for the US government not only to address the current demands for testing but to anticipate what testing needs are likely for the future, and plan for them. Testing needs are increasing and will change—although not disappear—when cases of COVID-19 eventually decline.

中文翻译：

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COVID-19 测试和摆脱大流行的途径

对于美国来说，2019 年冠状病毒病 (COVID-19) 检测将继续存在。白宫于 2021 年 9 月 10 日发布的“走出大流行之路”公告呼吁增加对 COVID-19 测试和测试计划的访问，包括为学校和未接种疫苗的超过 100 人的企业员工提供 (1)。为了增加检测的可用性，政府已援引《国防生产法》来增加生产，扩大免费药房检测，主要零售商将以低价出售家庭快速抗原检测。该计划是一个受欢迎的测试能力提升，这将有助于解决当前测试短缺和长期延迟获得测试结果的问题。然而，这将很重要，美国政府不仅要解决当前的测试需求，还要预测未来可能的测试需求，并为之制定计划。当 COVID-19 病例最终减少时，检测需求正在增加，并且会发生变化——尽管不会消失。