Jan 4, 2022 - Politics & Policy

White House to start delivering at-home COVID tests "later this month"

Yacob Reyes

White House press secretary Jen Psaki. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

The Biden administration is finalizing contracts to mail millions of at-home COVID-19 rapid tests "later this month," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday.

Why it matters: President Biden began ramping up testing efforts after receiving widespread criticism for not making at-home tests widely available ahead of the emergence of the Omicron variant, which has driven up infections across the U.S.

People struggled to find COVID tests ahead of the holidays and amid the explosion in cases, Axios' Shawna Chen writes.
The administration announced in December it would purchase 500 million rapid tests and make them available for Americans to order to their home via a federal website.

What they're saying: "We're on track to start seeing movement on some of the awards through the RFP this week," Psaki said at a briefing Tuesday.

The "first delivery for manufacturers will start later this month," she added.
"We will put the website up and make it available so that people can order tests at that point in time."

Go deeper: America once again faces COVID test shortages

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White House to start delivering at-home COVID tests "later this month"

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