WASHINGTON – Following reports and stories shared by Granite Staters that a lack of testing availability and slow testing turnaround times are impacting families, U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) called on the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure that testing supplies are going to the areas with the highest need. Just this past summer, national daily testing demand surged from 450,000 tests in early July to 1.5 million by the end of August, and this demand dovetails with students heading back to school, where testing is necessary to help reduce the spread of the virus.

“As these tests come to the market, our nation needs a targeted plan to ensure that supplies go to where they are needed most,” wrote Senator Hassan. “I have heard directly from multiple Granite Staters that they are unable to access timely COVID-19 testing. This is a particularly urgent concern given the role of COVID-19 testing in the back-to-school plans for many school districts.”

Hassan cites stories she has from Granite Staters and local news coverage, “I heard from a New Hampshire family whose daughter had symptoms similar to that of COVID-19 – and they did not get test results back for nearly two weeks, so she had to stay home that entire time. Another parent shared with me that they visited six different pharmacies in search of an at-home COVID-19 antigen test. Sadly, these individuals’ stories are far too common. A recent article in the Union Leader also highlights this plight as well, discussing how chronic shortages and an overwhelmed system have led to children missing school as they wait for COVID-19 test results, a serious concern given the learning loss many children experienced last year.”

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