You're listening to Shortwave from NPR.

Hey Shortwavers, today we are tagging along with planet money on a quest for a test, a

COVID test.

The show had staff members around the country try to get one in 24 hours.

Now they did this before the Biden administration put up its website where folks can sign up

for delivery of free tests.

We'll have a link to that site in our episode notes so you can sign up for a free test too.

But those ship in late January, there's still a huge need to figure out where COVID is

spreading.

So officials can make decisions about things like mask guidelines, school openings and

vaccination requirements.

Planet money follows their staff in this mission to get a test with armchair thoughts from

a public health pandemic response expert.

They talk about the implications of a patchwork of testing and how the US ended up in this

situation in the first place.

So buckle in, it is a ride.

Stay tuned.

This is Planet Money from NPR.

Team Planet Money Hello.

Thank you for joining me today and thank you for agreeing to this mission.

Over the next 24 hours, you will travel to strange locations.

You will wait in the cold or the sleet, maybe worse.

...