Last week, the City of Hartford managed to distribute free Covid home tests — ahead of the other towns — but it’s hard to overlook all the ways in which this fell short. Sorry, but we don’t hand out participation trophies here, especially when we are now two complete years into a public health crisis that, had anyone demonstrated political will and courage, would not be a crisis of this magnitude.
Why has the government — from the City of Hartford to the suburban towns to the State — opted for breadlines as their way to distribute Covid home tests?
How is that equitable, safe, sensible, or efficient?
There were people lined up for two hours in the rain on Thursday, waiting to get their tests from the downtown Hartford Public Library. If we’re telling people to stay home if they have symptoms, why are we turning around and asking them to stand around a bunch of other people to receive something that does not need to be administered by a medical professional? Since we know asymptomatic spread of Covid is a thing, why ask people to congregate at all?
The distribution hours were exclusive. Those working the first shift would have needed to take time off, a concept that varies from employer-to-employer. Coming at the end of 2021, it’s likely that those who do get paid time off would have used that time already.
Not every person has a spouse to whom she can outsource errands while she puts bread on the table. In this scenario, having a village will not help. A friend living at a different address was not allowed to pick up a kit on someone else’s behalf.
This system excludes those with mobility issues and those with other medical concerns. How do long waits work for those who need to sit or for those who have to use a restroom frequently?
These were billed as “first come, first serve,” which means that if you were not in the line first thing in the morning, there was no guarantee test kits would be left later in the day. Not everyone can go from one distribution site to the next searching for what’s left.
Again, it’s not like Hartford is the only place getting it wrong. Car-centered distribution sites featured elsewhere are not a better solution. These exclude those who do not want or cannot afford a vehicle, along with those who can’t afford to waste gas while idling, or those who refuse to participate in idling culture. This still excludes those with certain medical issues.
Then, there’s the other problem created by catering to only those in cars: congestion and an increased risk for collisions.
It’s like nobody in Connecticut sat down and talked about possible alternatives to this system.
America, have you met the United State Postal Service? They say it themselves: the USPS is “the only delivery service that reaches every mailbox in the nation, including PO Box™ addresses and APO/FPO/DPO addresses.”
Worried about people stealing from others? Mail theft is already a federal crime.
There are many items I can have shipped to my door, whether through the USPS or other delivery services: roller skates, pizza, vinyl LPs, zines, kitty litter, shampoo, wine, an entire live tree. . . but a home test? Unpossible!
If it seems far too costly to just send test and mask kits to all households, people could register in advance. Those who are low risk — because they consistently work remotely or with little contact with others, because they have been opting out of group hangs and brunch every week, etc. — might pass on the freebies, leaving the supply for those with public-facing jobs. That’s one idea. Or, they could automatically send these out based on a block group’s median household income. Or send to those who checked off a “pre-existing condition” when registering for their vaccine appointments.
Another world is possible. Imagine not putting people into a situation where they can catch a virus while trying to test to see if they are infected. Imagine not creating situations where people stand in the rain for two hours because they’re desperate and heard tests can’t be found in drugstores.
Not everyone has a stable address, and for those folks, distribution of masks and tests through the public libraries and shelters makes a lot of sense. Do some pop-up distribution for a couple hours here and there at major bus stops.
Varying how people are given tools to protect themselves and the rest of us makes the most sense.
But if we want to ever escape this malaise, we can’t continue doing the uninspired bare minimum — not at the level of government, and not at the personal level.
Linda Pagani
Though I thought Gov. Lamont did a good job managing the pandemic the first year, I’m baffled and, yes, angered, at his current stance. When asked time and again at Covid briefings in December and January if he’ll mandate, at the very least, mask wearing, he shuts that idea down, saying he “doesn’t want to politicize” this health care crisis with mandates. But that’s exactly what he’s doing. Since he’s running for re-election this year, he’s pushing those decisions onto the municipalities, so local leaders can absorb the ire of the anti-maskers among us and he can keep his approval rating up. He then usually adds that people know the right thing to do and he’s sure they will do it. But the shocking and ever-rising Covid case numbers tell the sad and sometimes deadly story that many people either don’t know the right thing to do, or refuse to do it.
Kerri
It’s not March 2020. This kind of response in the first three months would have made sense. Two years in? Give me a break!
I agree with you that Lamont’s decisions lately are driven by his desire to remain in power. It’s too bad he’s not doing more good with the power he currently wields.