More than half of U.S. households have ordered at-home tests for COVID-19 tests to be shipped to their homes. Now they can get more:
In this photo illustration, free iHealth coronavirus rapid tests from the federal government sit in a U.S. Postal Service envelope after being delivered on Feb. 4. to be shipped to their homes, the White House said on Monday.
President Biden announced the move last week in his State of the Union address. On Monday, the White House released a video telling people the website was ready to go again."Get your free tests today," Biden said, urging people to have them on hand"so we're prepared no matter what COVID-19 brings." COVID-19 case numbers have dropped significantly since January. The Biden administration is turning to the new phase of its response, which emphasizes getting back to normal while being ready for the possibility that a new variant could emerge and cause case numbers to spike once again.
But Inglesby said there's another reason the federal government is purchasing all these tests:"to keep the testing infrastructure strong."The last time COVID-19 case numbers ebbed — in the spring and early summer of 2021 — the nascent home-testing industry saw demand dry up, and production slowed. But then when case numbers increased with the delta and omicron waves, there weren't nearly enough tests to meet demand.