January 21, 2022

Insurers are supposed to pay for COVID-19 tests starting Jan. 15.

"Jan. 15 marks the first day that private health insurance companies will be required to reimburse policyholders for at-home COVID-19 tests they purchase, according to guidance the Biden administration published on Monday."

"However, insurance companies may not have their systems up and running by then to comply with the new guidance, which was originally announced in early December but only finalized recently."

"The guidance requires private insurers to cover eight rapid COVID-19 tests a month by either setting up a network of retailers so that policyholders don’t have to pay anything upfront for tests, or enabling consumers to submit receipts for reimbursement."

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/insurers-are-supposed-to-start-paying-for-covid-19-tests-jan-15-but-many-dont-know-yet-how-reimbursement-will-work-11642091258

January 21, 2022

How to Get Free N95 Masks From the Government

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/how-to-get-free-n95-face-masks-from-the-us-government.html

"...the Biden administration unveiled plans to make 400 million N95 masks available for free at pharmacies and community health centers across the country"

"Where can people pick up their free N95 masks?
The masks will be available at tens of thousands of pharmacies and federal community health centers across the country. Most of the pharmacies that have partnered with the federal government to distribute COVID vaccines will participate in the mask program,"

"When will the free masks be available?
The free N95s will be available at some locations starting next week, and the program should be fully up and running by early February."

January 20, 2022

How to reuse your N95 and KN95 masks...

How to Reuse N95, KN95, and Other Disposable Masks
https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/blog/how-to-reuse-n95-kn95-and-other-disposable-masks/

"You can re-wear a mask after you have stored it in a paper bag for a few days, according to the CDC and multiple experts we’ve interviewed for our respirator guide. The agency provides a simple strategy for healthcare workers that involves rotating used masks in brown paper bags, a variation of which was employed during the N95 shortage in the early days of the pandemic. The coronavirus has an expected survival time of about 72 hours, so waiting for, say, five to seven days should be enough time for it to be inactivated."

January 9, 2022

Early Omicron symptoms are different from Delta.

https://www.businessinsider.com/sore-throat-early-symptom-omicron-covid-variant-2022-1

I have read several posts from DUers wondering what Omicron symptoms are and just found this info.
Apparently Omicron starts with a very sore throat before anything else develops. The loss of smell is not a big deal with Omicron.

"Many of those new patients reported the same ailment: a dry, sore throat that caused sharp pain when they swallowed and seemed to appear before most other COVID-19 symptoms. Doctors in Norway, South Africa, and the UK have similarly identified a sore or scratchy throat as a distinguishing symptom of Omicron. At a December news briefing, Ryan Noach, CEO of Discovery Health, South Africa's largest private health insurer, said Omicron patients commonly report a scratchy throat first, followed by nasal congestion, dry cough, and body aches. Moreno, by contrast, said sore throat often "comes hand in hand with sinus congestion and headache."

January 1, 2022

FL has more new Covid cases than NY...where't their Gov?

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/usa/florida/
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us

FL...76,000
NY...70,000