Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
White House Again Making Free COVID Home Tests Available Through the Mail
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 1 year ago on
December 15, 2022

Share

The Biden administration is again making some free COVID-19 tests available to all U.S. households as it unveils its contingency plans for potential coronavirus surges this winter.

After a three-month hiatus, the administration is making four rapid virus tests available through covidtests.gov starting Thursday, a senior administration official said. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the program. COVID-19 cases have shown a marked increase after the Thanksgiving holiday, and further increases are projected from indoor gathering and travel around Christmas and New Year’s.

The administration is putting personnel and equipment on standby should they be needed to help overwhelmed hospitals and nursing homes, as was necessary in earlier waves of the virus. So far, there have been no requests for assistance, but surge teams, ventilators and personal protective equipment are ready, the official said.

The Biden administration is also urging states and local governments to do more to encourage people to get the updated bivalent COVID-19 vaccines, which scientists say are more effective at protecting against serious illness and death from the currently circulating variants. The administration is reiterating best practices to nursing homes and long-term care facilities for virus prevention and treatment and is urging administrators as well as governments to encourage vulnerable populations to get the new shots.

The planning comes as the administration has struggled to persuade most Americans to get the updated boosters as cases and deaths have declined from pandemic highs and most people have embraced a return to most of their pre-pandemic activities.

The official said funding for the new tests has been reallocated from other virus programs while the White House struggles to get congressional buy-in for additional COVID-19 emergency funding. The official declined to detail how much is being spent on the new tests or from which programs they were diverted.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Top Former US Generals Say Failures of Biden Administration in Planning Drove Chaotic Fall of Kabul

DON'T MISS

US Defense Chief Vows Continued Aid to Ukraine, Even as Congress Is Stalled on Funding Bill

DON'T MISS

‘Gorilla Hail’ as Big as Softballs Hits Parts of Kansas and Missouri

DON'T MISS

Time for a Change: 66% of Americans Want to End Daylight Saving Time Ritual

DON'T MISS

United Airlines Plane Makes a Safe Emergency Landing in LA After Losing a Tire During Takeoff

DON'T MISS

Bill That Could Make TikTok Unavailable in the US Advances Quickly in the House

DON'T MISS

76 US Congressional Members Call for Gaza Cease-Fire

DON'T MISS

New York Will Send National Guard to Subways After a String of Violent Crimes

DON'T MISS

Few Americans Want US More Involved in Current Wars in Ukraine and Gaza, AP-NORC Poll Finds

DON'T MISS

A 4-Year-Old Gaza Boy Lost His Arm – and His Family. Half a World Away, He’s Getting a Second Chance

No data was found

California Law Enforcement Agencies Obstruct Transparency Efforts in Use-of-Force Cases

2 hours ago

Fresno County Tackles Animal Overpopulation with New Low-Cost Spay/Neuter Program

2 hours ago

Fallen Crypto Mogul Sam Bankman-Fried Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison

2 hours ago

When Newsom Gives His State of the State, He Should Be Candid About California’s Economy

3 hours ago

No Police Charges for Taylor Swift’s Dad Over Paparazzi Incident in Sydney

3 hours ago

Biden Administration to Lend $1.5B to Restart Michigan Nuclear Power Plant, a First in the US

4 hours ago

Tonight’s Biden Fundraiser With Obama and Clinton Already Nets a Record $25 Million

4 hours ago

Supermom Carmi Is Ready to Be Embraced by Her Forever Family

Animals /

8 hours ago

Ukrainian Navy Says a Third of Russian Warships in the Black Sea Have Been Destroyed or Disabled

15 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: How Going to Work for Trump Turned Devin Nunes Into a Millionaire

20 hours ago

Ex-Correctional Officer at Women’s Prison in California Sentenced for Sexually Abusing Inmates

OAKLAND — A former correctional officer at a federal California women’s prison known for numerous misconduct allegations was sentenced...

1 hour ago

1 hour ago

Ex-Correctional Officer at Women’s Prison in California Sentenced for Sexually Abusing Inmates

1 hour ago

Caitlin Clark and Iowa Draw Nearly 5 Million Viewers for Second-Round NCAA Win

1 hour ago

Canadian School Boards Sue Snapchat, TikTok and Meta for Disrupting Students’ Education

2 hours ago

California Law Enforcement Agencies Obstruct Transparency Efforts in Use-of-Force Cases

2 hours ago

Fresno County Tackles Animal Overpopulation with New Low-Cost Spay/Neuter Program

2 hours ago

Fallen Crypto Mogul Sam Bankman-Fried Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison

3 hours ago

When Newsom Gives His State of the State, He Should Be Candid About California’s Economy

Photo of Taylor Swift
3 hours ago

No Police Charges for Taylor Swift’s Dad Over Paparazzi Incident in Sydney

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend