Free Covid tests are back — and new vaccines are at your local pharmacy too.
The United States is in the midst of its worst Covid-19 wave since the beginning of the year and finally deploying some of its most powerful tools against it. The next step will be getting as many Americans as possible to take advantage of them.
Last week, the US government approved updated Covid-19 vaccines and advised that effectively every American other than young infants receive one. Starting next week, it will again ship out free Covid-19 tests to any American who orders them. Some local hospital systems have begun reinstituting mask mandates, though widespread requirements are unlikely given how politically toxic masking rules have become. Individuals, particularly those with compromised immune systems, are still advised to wear masks in times of high spread.
Covid-19’s spread has been increasing since the middle of the summer, picking up in late June based on wastewater surveillance and climbing steadily through August.
Hospitalizations increased in tandem, particularly among the older and more vulnerable populations. The hospitalization rate for Americans over 70 more than doubled from early July to early September. (Younger age groups were less affected by severe disease, which follows the coronavirus’s pattern since it first emerged.) Deaths have risen as a result: The number of weekly Covid-19 deaths had dipped below 500 for the first time in early July but topped 900 again in late August.
The summer wave may finally be cresting, however. The amount of Covid-19 detected in wastewater was flat from August 30 to September 6 and then dipped slightly the week of September 13, per Biobot Analytics. Hospitalizations are still up over the past two weeks, but that is a lagging indicator; if spread is indeed slowing as the wastewater data suggests, indicators of serious illness should start to plateau and then decline in the coming weeks.
Still, as I wrote in late July, this summer’s increase in Covid-19 activity may merely be a preview of coming attractions. Recent mutations have allowed the coronavirus to regain some of its transmissibility. Public health officials are still expecting a winter wave of viral activity — not only from Covid but influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, as well.
The good news is that, at this point, we know the playbook for slowing viral spread, and the government is taking steps to help people follow it. And there are some indications that the US public, in spite of inevitable and understandable pandemic fatigue, is taking the start of this viral season seriously. If people do avail themselves of new vaccines and free tests, the country will be in a better position to weather any winter surge.
Updated Covid-19 vaccines and more free tests are now available
Vaccination is the most important step any person can take to protect themselves this winter. Updated flu shots are already available, and Pfizer and Moderna have formulated new versions of the mRNA Covid-19 vaccines that proved so effective in preventing deaths and hospitalizations. The FDA gave them its approval last week.
The CDC has advised that every American older than 6 months should receive one shot of the updated Covid-19 vaccines. As public health experts told Vox’s Rachel DuRose, there is a growing expectation that an annual Covid shot will be recommended to most Americans in the years to come.
For this year’s updated shots specifically, the CDC recommends:
- All Americans 5 years of age and older receive one dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, at least two months after their most recent shot.
- Americans 6 months to 4 years who have not been previously vaccinated should receive either three doses of Pfizer or two doses of Moderna.
- Americans 6 months to 4 years who have already been vaccinated should receive at least one dose of Pfizer or Moderna.
The Novavax vaccine, which uses a protein-based formulation instead of the mRNA technology, is also available as an alternative for people who choose not to or are unable to receive the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. Most people should be able to get both the flu and Covid shots at the same time, according to government health officials.
Most health insurers will cover a new Covid-19 vaccine for free, although it is worth checking with your plan in advance; there have been reports of people facing $100 or more in out-of-pocket costs when they show up at a pharmacy. Uninsured people or people whose health plan won’t cover the vaccine can still get a free dose from certain health centers, their state or local health department, or at pharmacies participating in the federal program to provide free vaccines.
The Biden administration has also announced that every American household will be eligible to order up to four free at-home Covid-19 rapid test kits starting on September 25. The government had previously made tests available for free to everyone in the thick of the pandemic, but rolled back eligibility to only uninsured Americans earlier this year.
The administration is trying to get ahead of this year’s cold-and-flu season, after last year’s proved so challenging to the health system. As Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt, formerly the medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, told me, last year’s struggles were a function of biology. Flu and RSV in particular spiked much earlier in the fall than they usually did before the pandemic, and the population appeared vulnerable to them after those viruses had been largely dormant while Covid was spreading widely.
But this year, Schaffner said, the viruses are less likely to take us by surprise. Instead, the challenge for 2023 will be whether the health system can marshal a strong response to a viral surge that it’s already anticipating. Giving away free tests, for example, should grant people the ability to identify when they are sick with Covid-19, so they can isolate and avoid spreading the virus to other people.
The vaccines are the most important tool available to preventing hospitalizations and deaths — and perhaps the area where the government’s test will be greatest, given the anti-vaccine movement that flourished during the pandemic. Less than 1 in 5 Americans got previously updated versions of the vaccine that targeted the omicron variant. Even for people over 65, who are most vulnerable, less than half received the bivalent booster.
Based on that low uptake, many public health experts have been fearful that Americans will be skeptical about any future Covid-19 shots. But there is some evidence that the public, perhaps informed by the spread of the coronavirus in the late summer, is more receptive to the new Covid shots heading into this fall and winter.
A little more than half of Americans said they were either very or somewhat interested in receiving the updated vaccines, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll. That may reflect an overall increase in concern about Covid-19: A recent Gallup survey found that the share of Americans who believe the pandemic is getting worse had grown from 5 percent in May to 30 percent in September.
Those numbers indicate public health officials may find Americans more receptive to interventions like testing and vaccines; at the same time, the government is doing its part to make those resources more easily accessible. The opportunity is there for the US to chart a better path out of the pandemic. The next few months will determine whether we can take advantage of it.
How to buy a new phone for less without paying more.
Are you in the market for a new phone, or just want to get the latest and greatest? Either way, you’re sure to come across seemingly incredible offers from major carriers offering heavily discounted if not free phones, including the highest-end versions of the newest models. With the new iPhone 15 hitting the shelves, now might be a great time to upgrade what you’ve got. And you’ll want to get the best price for it, of course.
That’s easier said than done these days. The major three carriers — AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon — are offering up to $1,000 off the price of iPhones and Androids, which covers the price of most of them entirely, from an iPhone 15 Pro to a Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5. Their manufacturers are offering big (though not as big) discounts, too. Meanwhile, a herd of low-cost carriers are offering phones for full price, but throwing in big service discounts with a purchase.
For most of us, a phone is an important and expensive purchase. Any discount is welcome, and free is very tempting. But the biggest discounts might not be the best deals, depending on your needs and, of course, the desires of whoever’s offering them in the first place.
Why are the three major carriers offering me so much more than everyone else?
Back in the day, your iPhone purchase price was largely subsidized by your carrier when you agreed to a years-long contract. End that contract early and you were on the hook for what could be a considerable cancellation fee. As iPhone prices have gone up, those arrangements have been phased out … sort of. Instead, your phone purchase is financed by the carrier, interest-free, and you’re paying it off in monthly installments on your phone bill for the next several years. But the carrier also gives you bill credits that can be as much as those installments, making it seem as though the phone is cheap or free.
Here’s the catch: To get the full discount, you have to trade in your old phone, and in most cases you’ll get a smaller discount for older or broken devices; if you switch to a different carrier or downgrade your plan before those installments end, you’re on the hook for paying whatever’s left — no more bill credits for you. While AT&T evenly distributes the entire discount across a 36-month term, Verizon and T-Mobile give you a chunk of your credit upfront (that’s the trade-in) and finance the remainder. That means you’ll owe them less money if you change providers or plans early. If you stay with the same carrier and plan until the phone is paid off, it won’t make a difference.
“It may be a great deal, especially if you were getting ready to upgrade,” Teresa Murray, consumer watchdog for Public Interest Research Group, told Vox. “But not necessarily for everyone.”
It is great for the carriers. Even if they lose money upfront by funding part of those phones (they make some money back from selling the trade-ins off to refurbishers, so they’re not losing the entire discount here), they make it back by keeping their customers effectively locked in for several years and upselling them on the pricier plans they have to get to qualify for the full discount. The minor differences between the three carriers’ offers might also be enough to acquire new customers. T-Mobile, for example, gives bill credits for 24 months while the others do it for 36, which means you’re on the hook for a year less. AT&T’s deal extends to some of its cheaper (but not its cheapest) plans. Verizon will give new customers full credit for any iPhone trade-in, regardless of age or condition; the others give less for older or damaged phones — that’s why these deals always say you get “up to” a certain amount off.
For carriers, this is where the real money is. When people aren’t buying as many phones as often as they used to, offering a “free” new phone is a great way to give them a push and get them on the most expensive plan.
“These companies don’t offer the supposed free iPhones because they want to be nice to you,” Murray said. “They do it for competitive reasons. They want your business long term. And they may want add-ons to make their money back, because nothing’s free.”
How do I get these discounts?
You can buy the phone directly from the carrier, either online or in-store. You may also be able to get them through other sellers, like the manufacturers. Apple, for instance, has “carrier deals” on its iPhone sales page that are, for the most part, the same as what those carriers are offering on their own sites. (You have to go directly to Verizon to get the new customer discount, for example.)
Apple’s site might be a good way to compare the three carriers’ deals, by the way. Some might offer you more for an older device than the others. An iPhone 11 Pro, for instance, will get you the maximum $999 credit from T-Mobile, but only $830 from AT&T and Verizon. Factor in the price of the monthly plans — including taxes and fees, which may add to that cost — you have to be on to get that seemingly better deal.
If you buy the phone from Apple’s store, make sure you hit the “finance” option, then “carrier,” and then — and this is very important because you risk not getting the deal if you don’t — make sure you expand, read, and follow your carrier’s “deal details” to the letter. That means choosing the carrier’s installment program at purchase and subscribing to an eligible plan.
Why are manufacturers offering any discounts at all when they don’t have cellphone plans to sell me on?
You don’t have to buy a phone through a carrier. You can get it directly from a store like Best Buy or a manufacturer, and you won’t be tied to a specific plan or even a carrier if you do. You might not even have to pay full price.
That’s because device makers also want people to buy more of their phones more often, so they offer discounts if you trade in your old device. The amount of said “discount” depends on the make and condition of what you’re trading in. The highest-end and newest phone will get you the biggest credit (an iPhone 14 Pro Max currently gets you $650 from Apple and $600 from Samsung, for instance). An older or broken device will get a lot less. An iPhone 6 in great condition will get you $200 from Samsung and “free recycling” (also known as $0) from Apple. Why is Samsung offering more money for an Apple phone than Apple is? Probably because it’s hoping that’ll pay off in the long run if it converts an Apple customer to Samsung.
And no, the manufacturers aren’t losing as much (or possibly anything) from those credits as you might think, because they turn around and sell the old phones off to refurbishers. And if you have an Apple Card, you’ll get 3 percent cashback on your Apple purchase because Apple is incentivizing people to get its credit card and spend money with it — money that Apple then gets a cut of.
What are “low-cost carriers” and why should I consider them at all when they’re making me pay (gasp) full price?
If you don’t need a cellphone plan with all the bells and whistles, you might want to consider a cheaper alternative. Mobile virtual network operators like Mint Mobile and Visible offer pre-paid plans and use the major carriers’ networks. Some are owned by those major carriers; others pay for the use of their networks. You can get plans with data caps or, for slightly more, unlimited plans. The drawback: You might find that your data speeds aren’t as good as with the major carriers, which understandably give their customers priority. So if you need high data speeds and live in a congested area, this might not be the carrier for you.
“The comparison I think about is shopping name brands versus store brands,” Murray said.
Tom’s Guide and Consumer Reports have some good reviews of these carriers’ pros and cons. Just make sure the prices are still current, since Consumer Reports’ is from 2022 and things may have changed.
The low-cost carriers may offer barely there deals, like a few months of free service, if you buy phones through them. But if you have a device to trade in, you’re probably best served by buying it from the manufacturer and getting a trade-in credit, then taking it to a low-cost carrier and signing up.
Why wouldn’t I want the best possible deal? A free phone is a free phone!
If the conditions are right, then the major carrier deals are mutually beneficial. If you’re planning to stick with a carrier for at least a few years, want or need the most expensive plans with the various bells and whistles, and have a relatively new model phone to trade in, congratulations: Your phone is free, aside from any taxes and activation or connection fees! (One exception: Verizon, which is offering existing customers less than the other two, and new customers potentially more — they can trade in any iPhone in any condition and still get the full $1,000 credit.)
But if you don’t want to be tied to one carrier or don’t need everything the priciest plans offer, you might end up paying less in the end when you pay more in the beginning. The money you save with a cheaper plan over the next two or three years may well be more than what the major carriers offered.
That said, trying to do the math and keep track of all of those deals to figure out where you come out on top is tricky. WalletHub has a cellphone savings calculator that makes this easier — just make sure that you’re putting in the total price, including taxes and fees, of the devices and monthly charges.
What if I need a phone but don’t need the latest model?
Now that the 15s are out, new 14s are outdated and cost less. You can still get them for free or at a reduced cost through the same carrier deals if you jump through all the aforementioned hoops, including trading in your old phone.
But don’t sleep on refurbished models, which most manufacturers and carriers offer. You won’t get the trade-in deals with them, but they are cheaper to buy outright than the new devices. Apple’s refurbished devices look brand new, have some new components (like the battery), and come with the same year-long warranty the new devices do.
In the end, carriers and device manufacturers hire lots of people to figure out the best deal for them. Make sure it’s the best deal for you, too.
The Ukrainian president seeks support for the same fight, but under different circumstances.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is visiting the White House and Congress on Thursday — but under decidedly different circumstances than when he arrived less than a year ago.
Zelenskyy is seeking to shore up support as Ukraine is struggling to achieve a breakthrough in its counteroffensive. The objective Ukraine is targeting — to essentially divide up Russian-controlled territory — was always going to be extremely challenging. And now time is running short, as fall turns to winter, when fighting will become much more difficult. At the same time, Russia has continued bombarding Ukraine, overnight unleashing missiles on major cities like Kyiv and Kharkiv, and even Lviv, in the west, far from the front lines. Those attacks damaged energy infrastructure, an echo of Moscow’s campaign last year to try to undermine Ukraine’s economy and its population’s resolve.
Russia’s invasion continues, as does the suffering and devastation that it has wrought. That hasn’t changed, but the future trajectory of the conflict is a lot less clear — which is why Zelenskyy, after trying to rally the world to Ukraine’s cause at the United Nations in New York, is meeting face-to-face with his backers in Washington.
That may be the biggest difference from last year: the question-mark over future Western support for Ukraine, and what that might mean for Ukraine’s ability to sustain its defense against Russia. On the whole, the United States and Europe have continued to provide financially and militarily to Ukraine. Yet the splits are beginning to show. It’s not clear how big or significant they will be, but Zelenskyy doesn’t want to reach the point where Ukraine has to find out.
The political dynamics abroad may change the course of war in Ukraine
When Zelenskyy visited Washington last December, Congress was considering another huge billion-dollar package of aid to Ukraine. This time, the Biden administration is pushing Congress to pass another $24 billion in aid to Ukraine. Then, as now, the package has bipartisan support, save for a vocal group of Republicans who have criticized the “blank check” to Kyiv.
That assistance package did pass last year, but the skepticism of Ukraine aid has intensified among this set of Republicans. They are questioning Ukraine’s counteroffensive progress against Russia, and where all this money is going. This has also become a leverage point in the GOP’s internal feud that could shut down the US government.
Some House Republicans remain optimistic; Michael McCaul (R-TX), the House chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said Thursday that “we will get it done.”
But even if this Ukraine aid package does get done, it will likely come after more short-term drama, and maybe even a government shutdown, which is probably not going to make any partners who rely on the US confident about its reliability.
And Zelenskyy apparently made no secret to lawmakers as to how much Kyiv relies on that support. As Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said in Thursday floor remarks: “To quote President Zelenskyy in the room, and this is a quote, he said: ‘If we don’t get the aid, we will lose the war.’ That’s a quote from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. That’s how stark the issue is.”
This funding request is also not likely the last US political hurdle for Ukraine. The GOP primary debates have showcased the views of Ukraine skeptics, including the frontrunner, Donald Trump, who claims he has a plan to end the war. This strain in the GOP, then, is probably not going away, and may morph beyond battles over Ukraine funding into fundamentally questioning the US’s position on Ukraine. As Zelenskyy said in an interview this week, if Trump has a peace plan, he should share it. But, Zelenskyy added: If “the idea is how to take the part of our territory and to give Putin, that is not the peace formula.”
There are also some worrisome signs among Ukraine’s other partners. Western solidarity has not been perfect throughout Russia’s invasion, but it’s largely held up amid domestic political fights, an energy crisis, and inflation. But none of that is permanent.
Right now, Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia have defied EU rules and banned Ukrainian grain exports, saying they are flooding the market and undermining their farmers. Ukraine has filed a complaint at the World Trade Organization against that move, including against Poland, perhaps Kyiv’s staunchest supporter in the Western alliance to date.
On Thursday, Poland’s prime minister said it was done sending weapons to Ukraine amid this grain dispute. It’s not clear exactly how the policy will play out; US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Thursday that he believes that Poland continues to stand behind Ukraine. But it shows that support for Ukraine is not unconditional.
At the heart of this feud, too, is Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea grain deal and its continued blockade of the Black Sea. Ukraine is still trying to get grain out through its sea ports, but it is risky, especially as the region becomes an increasingly volatile front in the war. But Russia can continue to use this as a pressure point, strangling Ukraine’s economy, probing a sore spot in Ukrainian-Polish relations, and potentially disrupting global food prices.
And right now, it seems Russia can continue to expose these pressure points.
The conflict feels entrenched right now, but the stakes are as high as ever
At the United Nations, Zelenskyy called on the world to “act united to defeat the aggressor.” Soon after, Moscow unleashed an aggressive air campaign against Ukrainian cities. Russia almost seemed to be sending a message: Try us.
Russia is not exactly winning, but it is also not defeated. Its winter offensive largely failed to achieve its objectives, and there are plenty of doubts as to whether Russia is capable of trying another offensive next year. But Moscow’s defensive lines proved formidable against Ukraine’s advances. Kyiv may be degrading Russian forces and logistics, but Moscow also has tools Ukraine doesn’t have, like the ability to pound Ukrainian forces from the air with attack drones and guided bombs, straining Ukraine’s air defense capabilities and exploiting Kyiv’s lack of air superiority.
Russia probably wouldn’t be calling up North Korea if it didn’t really need more munitions and weapons, and sanctions will continue to deplete its ability to wage war in the long-term. But Russia is still finding ways to fight, and even seeking to retake some territory as Ukraine focuses on its counteroffensive. President Vladimir Putin has, so far, survived the biggest challenge to his power to date, and then that challenger’s plane fell out of the sky — a sign, at least for now, that Putin is still in control and will continue waging his war.
Yet Ukrainian forces could still make a decisive push into Russian territory in the coming weeks. Last September, Ukraine liberated huge swaths of Kharkiv, and later, in November, forced a Russian retreat in Kherson. That momentum bolstered Western support, and, maybe, along with that Zelenskyy visit, helped convince the West to provide Kyiv things like missile defense systems and battle tanks.
Kyiv has adapted and changed throughout the conflict, because it knows the stakes of this war, which are existential. Kyiv switched tactics in its summer counteroffensive when its initial blitz failed, and Ukrainian troops have had success — and might have more still — degrading Russian forces. Ukraine is developing capabilities to take the fight directly to Moscow, with drones and sabotage operations. This is the case Zelenskyy is making in Washington: that Ukraine can win, and it will win. But Kyiv’s backers have to stay the course.