Biden Administration Orders 100 Million More Free COVID19 Tests By Mail

A nationwide shortage of tests has plagued the pandemic response in recent weeks during the rampant spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant. Now the Biden Administration has procured more than 100 million additional COVID-19 tests from test manufacturer iHealth Lab Inc. as part of the White House’s plan to distribute 500 million free at-home tests across the country, the Department of Defense said Friday.

Starting in January, the U.S. government has been allowing households to order four free at-home COVID-19 tests from the website COVIDTests.gov with shipping expected within seven to 12 days of ordering.

MIAMI, FLORIDA – DECEMBER 29: A healthcare worker conducts a test at a drive-thru COVID-19 testing site at the Dan Paul Plaza on December 29, 2021 in Miami, Florida. In response to the increasing demand for COVID-19 tests, Miami-Dade County opened two new testing sites and expanding hours at the Zoo Miami testing location. The Zoo Miami testing site is now open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

The government website to request free rapid Covid-19 tests formally launched last week, allowing people to order a maximum of four tests shipped directly to their household. Those tests, the administration has said, are expected to ship seven to 12 days after being ordered.

Overall, the Biden administration has pledged to acquire 1 billion rapid tests — initially, the 500 million to distribute by mail to Americans for free, with another 500 million announced recently to meet future demand. The free tests are aimed at easing a shortage across the country amid increased demand during the rapid spread of the Omicron variant.

These free #COVID19 tests just arrived in the mails, thanks @POTUS! pic.twitter.com/0tQWABq4BI

— Tara Dublin (@taradublinrocks) January 29, 2022

The White House said on Friday that an estimated 60 million households have requested free Covid-19 rapid tests so far, with tens of millions tests having “gone out the door” as part of the Biden administration’s program to mail more than half a billion rapid tests to Americans around the country. This means the federal government has about 260 million tests still on hand out of the initial order of 500 million, which is enough for an additional 65 million households.

Stunning data from @CDCgov: Unvaccinated people 65 & up are 52X more likely to be hospitalized from #covid19 compared to the vaccinated/boosted.

For 50-64 year olds, the difference is 46X.

Major difference in every age group, including 12-17 year olds.https://t.co/gX4j0lk9O7 pic.twitter.com/aF6M9yRFk7

— Leana Wen, M.D. (@DrLeanaWen) January 28, 2022

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White House principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters aboard Air Force One that the federal government has also shipped out tens of millions of N95 masks to locations across the country, as part of the administration’s plan to distribute 400 million free masks at convenient locations nationwide.

Good news, folks: You can get free COVID-19 tests delivered right to your home. Head to https://t.co/12LzJrqFsC to get yours today. pic.twitter.com/ZHOg1Z9FAA

— President Biden (@POTUS) January 28, 2022

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations are starting to decline in the US, but deaths are rising and community transmission levels remain high.

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