| Biden expands testing, religious vaccine exemptions create confusion, and one hospital requires shots for organ donation. Here's what you should know: Headlines The White House prepares to expand testing resources On Monday the FDA approved a new at-home rapid test from Acon Laboratories. Now the White House is expected to announce that it's buying $1 billion worth of rapid at-home tests and taking other actions to quadruple the number of tests available by December. The administration will also reportedly increase the number of pharmacies in the government's free testing program. These are meaningful signs that the US is taking testing seriously in addition to vaccinations, which experts say will be key to mitigating the spread of the virus in the short and long term. Religious exemptions for vaccine mandates cause confusion in the courts Vaccine mandates are becoming more common, and with them come more people seeking religious exemptions to avoid getting their shots. But legally, it's hard to know where these objections stand, especially because challenges to mandates have played out differently across different courts. Interestingly, religious opt-outs for inoculations have increased in some places in recent years, even though the religious compositions of those states didn't change. Some experts who have studied the matter point out that few religions actually bar vaccination, and many people's concerns with getting their shots ultimately seem quite secular. A Colorado health system requires vaccinations for organ donors and transplant recipients UCHealth, a Colorado health system, has introduced a policy requiring organ transplant recipients and living donors to be vaccinated against Covid-19 "in almost all situations." The organization cited studies that show transplant recipients had a significantly higher mortality rate when they later tested positive for Covid-19, and it said this is a key reason for its policy. A spokesman added that it's common to require transplant patients to get certain vaccines before undergoing such a procedure, even before the pandemic. Daily Distraction Climate activists and policy experts have talked a big game about the promise of renewable energy. But what happens if the grid can't handle it? Something to Read The splashy promises Silicon Valley made last year in the wake of George Floyd's murder weren't the first time major corporations vowed to do better by Black America. But one model, devised by Netflix, might actually stand a chance at meaningfully combating inequity. Sanity Check It's hard to know what one single person can do to mitigate the impact of climate change. We've compiled a few resources for treading more lightly on the planet. One Question How many people have long Covid? Estimating how many people have long Covid—cases where some debilitating symptoms persist long after the time of infection—has proven to be difficult, in large part because even settling on a definition of long Covid is a challenge. There's no universally accepted definition, and the name can mean different things depending on what country you're in. Some authorities say that it applies to people whose symptoms haven't totally gone away 12 weeks after the start of acute Covid-19. Other experts have tried to subdivide long Covid into other syndromes like post-intensive-care syndrome, long-term organ damage, post-viral fatigue syndrome, and more. There's no obvious answer. But in order to fully address the problem of long Covid, experts need some sense of how many people are afflicted. Covid-19 Care Package 📦 To end this pandemic and prevent future ones, we'll need a good way to track and surveil emerging diseases. Here's a look at the latest efforts. 😷 Masks may not be mandatory where you live, but they're still recommended for many situations. Here are the best masks you can buy, and how to make one at home. 💉 Vaccines are the most effective way to protect yourself and others against Covid-19. Here's how to get an appointment in your area. 💻 Whether or not you're a work-from-home pro, here's how to stay productive without losing your mind. 💼 As employers increasingly require workers to return to the office, the routines you built during the pandemic may be thrown into disarray. Here are some tips to help you make the adjustment smoothly. 👋 So you're fully vaccinated! Congrats. Here are some ways you can let others know. 🦠Read all of our coronavirus coverage here. | 
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