EXPLAINER: Where are the COVID-19 tests that Biden promised?

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WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden announced past period that the national authorities volition bargain fractional a cardinal COVID-19 accelerated trial kits and administer them escaped to radical to usage astatine home. But contempt precocious nationalist request for tests, it volition inactive beryllium respective much weeks earlier these kits are disposable to beryllium shipped, White House officials said.

DOES THE GOVERNMENT HAVE THE TESTS?

Not yet. This week marked the adjacent of an archetypal bidding play for trial manufacturers to use to the departments of Defense and Health and Human Services for contracts to marque the tests. The archetypal contract, worthy $51.6 million, was awarded Thursday and a 2nd for 13.3 cardinal tests was assigned Friday. Additional contracts volition beryllium signed successful the coming weeks, officials said. All 500 cardinal kits volition not get astatine the aforesaid time. They volition beryllium delivered successful batches implicit months.

WHEN WILL THE TEST KITS BE DELIVERED?

The national authorities is expected to get transportation of the archetypal batch of tests “over the adjacent week oregon so," according to White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients. Americans volition commencement receiving them “in the coming weeks” helium added.

MY DRUGSTORE DOESN’T HAVE ANY TESTS. HOW CAN I GET A FREE KIT FROM THE GOVERNMENT?

You’ll spell to a caller authorities website to petition a kit, but the tract won’t beryllium operating until aft the archetypal batch of trial kits has been delivered to the government. “We’re evidently not going to enactment the website up until determination are tests available,” White House property caput Jen Psaki said past month.

The Postal Service volition grip fulfillment and shipment of tests to Americans’ doorsteps, officials said.

WHICH HOME TEST WILL I GET?

It's unclear. But Psaki noted that the Food and Drug Administration has approved respective antithetic brands of accelerated location tests that are presently connected the market. While they are packaged otherwise and whitethorn usage somewhat antithetic procedures, officials said, their mechanisms of detection and effectiveness are mostly the same.

WILL I BE LIMITED TO ONE TEST OR CAN I REQUEST MULTIPLE?

To beryllium determined. Officials are besides moving connected policies for however often radical tin petition a escaped test. That's expected to travel with a caller absorption connected educating Americans astir champion practices for erstwhile they should instrumentality a test.

WHY IS BIDEN BUYING THESE TEST KITS?

It represents an acknowledgement by the president that the medication needs to bash much to summation entree to COVID-19 testing, which is an important instrumentality to assistance dilatory the dispersed of the coronavirus.

In cases wherever infected radical amusement symptoms oregon not, investigating is the lone mode to find retired if they person the microorganism truthful they tin debar being retired and astir and perchance spreading disease.

Demand for trial kits soared arsenic the holidays neared and radical grew anxious to trial themselves and their families earlier traveling and arsenic the easy transmissible omicron variant dispersed rapidly successful conscionable a fewer weeks to go ascendant strain successful the U.S.

Biden's committedness of 500 cardinal trial kits is successful summation to the administration's earlier pledge to nonstop 50 cardinal accelerated tests to assemblage wellness centers crossed the country.

HOW MUCH WILL THE PROGRAM COST?

The acquisition volition beryllium paid for with wealth from the $1.9 trillion coronavirus alleviation measure Biden signed into instrumentality successful March, the White House said. The nonstop outgo volition beryllium known soon.

IS THERE ANOTHER WAY TO GET A TEST KIT FOR FREE

Starting Jan. 15, backstage insurers volition beryllium required to screen the outgo of at-home testing, the aforesaid mode they screen the outgo of PCR laboratory tests. People volition person the enactment of buying tests astatine a store oregon online, past seeking reimbursement from their wellness security provider. Those with nationalist wellness security done Medicare oregon Medicaid, oregon without insurance, volition beryllium directed to the forthcoming website to bid tests oregon to assemblage wellness centers successful their country offering escaped testing.

WILL THE GOVERNMENT PROGRAM MAKE IT HARDER FOR ME TO FIND A TEST AT THE DRUGSTORE?

White House officials accidental the authorities tests are coming from caller manufacturing capableness and should not interfere with existing supplies that drugstores, wellness clinics and authorities governments are relying on.

“These are further tests," Zients said, made imaginable by the information that the FDA has authorized galore caller ones successful the past fewer months. “So, there’s a batch much capableness for accelerated tests.”

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