"Test to treat" chaos latest setback for U.S. COVID-19 pandemic response: FT

LONDON, April 28 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. President Joe Biden administration's flagship "test to treat" plan to deal with COVID-19 over the coming months is failing because of key design flaws, the London-based Financial Times (FT) said in a recent report.

Biden unveiled the scheme as part of his State of the Union address earlier this year. It aims to ensure that people at high risk of severe illness, like the elderly and those with underlying conditions, receive antiviral pills as soon as they test positive to cut hospitalizations and deaths.

But recent data from the U.S. health department shows that half of the antiviral pills supplied to pharmacies are sitting unused, with many patients unaware of the scheme or unable to access it quickly enough, the FT reported.

The lack of take-up is a significant problem for the Biden administration's COVID response, which relies less on mass vaccination drives and measures like social distancing to keep infections low and instead focuses on keeping people out of hospital, according to the FT.