America is being hit by two waves of coronavirus, leading to long lines for testing as the holiday season begins.
"AI has affected my plans already," said one man who'd been waiting in line for hours.
Thousands of people are testing positive for both Omicron and Delta variants across the country daily.
"It's here now and it's spreading and it's going to increase," warned President Joe Biden.
With low vaccination rates in some central and southern states, hospitals are under increasing pressure as staff fall sick as well.
In New York, one lab company has run out of test supplies and dozens of restaurants are closing as Omicron spreads through kitchen and wait staff.
The State has started giving away at-home tests - something the Government refuses to do.
When asked by a reporter why test kits were not available, White House press secretary Jen Psaki questioned the benefit of such action.
"Should we just send one to every American? Then what happens if every American has one test, how much does that cost? And then what happens after that?" she replied.
Many countries across Europe make test kits free to its residents through a network of pharmacies and test sites.
But throughout the pandemic, America has battled a lack of testing capacity, vaccine hesitation and misinformation.
As a result, immunisation rates are wildly inconsistent - while Vermont is at 75 per cent fully vaccinated, Idaho is at just 45.
"Where we are right now feels a lot like the first surge back in march of 2020," said nurse Erin Dicks.
Schools across the country are back - but just 10 per cent of kids are double-jabbed, and boards have opted to implement testing systems just to keep classrooms open, even in an outbreak.
So far 800,000 people have died of coronavirus in America, but even the risk of serious illness or death has failed to convince many of the benefits of a free, preventative treatment.
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