White House restarts program that sends free at-home COVID-19 tests through mail

The White House is bringing back a popular program that provides free at-home COVID-19 testing by mail to any household who requests it nationwide.

In October, President Joe Biden received a highly publicized COVID-19 booster shot at the White House. While vaccination has helped slow the spread of the virus, the White House has said most Americans are not following through and receiving critical boosters that serve to prolong immunity. File photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI

Beginning Thursday, families can place orders for up to four free test kits at COVIDTests.gov, though many were ordered and shipped in the previous rollout after the peak of the Omicron wave in January.

The mail-in testing program, which has delivered a total of 600 million tests, was suspended last summer after Congress failed to provide additional funding to keep it going.

Without more money, Biden administration officials fear the government will run out of household kits by winter – when they are most needed.

The puzzle forced the White House to build a strategy around taxpayer money left over from the US bailout.

The administration is now seeking to fund the program by reallocating it as part of President Joe Biden’s winter preparedness plan – a bill that is expected to cost about $10 billion.

As part of the plan, the White House will also expand COVID-19 testing options during the winter months, make vaccination and treatment more easily accessible to all, distribute free testing at trusted locations, and increase vaccination status. will allow. Major overvoltage. ,

A winter handbook for nursing homes and long-term care facilities has also been revealed in a fact sheet released by the White House.

The administration wants to make more face masks available in crowded places, create more mobile vaccination sites, and create a strategic national stockpile in case critical supplies run out during a national emergency.

However, the measure was almost certain to face serious opposition on Capitol Hill from Republicans who were preparing to seize control of the House in January.

Meanwhile, public health officials recently warned that the country is at risk of another major surge during the holiday season due to colder weather and more people traveling.

Vaccination has helped slow the spread of the virus throughout the year, but the White House has said most Americans are not following through and receiving boosters that help prolong immunity.

Only 14% of eligible adults in the United States have received a booster, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as the number of deaths, infections and hospitalizations continues to rise nationwide.