Biden administration invests $3 billion to expand the number of at-home Covid tests

President Biden will announce continued plans on the country’s fight against COVID-19 and Omicron, a newer variant of the coronavirus, as we head into the holidays. In a speech expected today, Biden will outline his Winter Plan, focusing heavily on vaccinations and testing.

In a call with reporters, the administration shared the vast majority of Americans who are fully vaccinated, and especially if you’ve got your booster shot, have a high degree of protection against severe illness. Because Omicron spreads easily, we will see fully vaccinated people get COVID-19, but vaccinated people who get COVID will likely have no symptoms or mild symptoms.

Because of that strong protection, the administration feels if you are vaccinated and follow the process that we all know well, especially masking while traveling, you should feel comfortable celebrating Christmas and the holidays as they planned.

If you are unvaccinated, you are at high risk of getting sick. This variant is highly transmissible, and the unvaccinated are 8 times more likely to be hospitalized and 14 times more likely to die from COVID.

The President’s Winter Plan also includes expanding access to testing. Since January, the President has taken significant actions to increase testing.  This summer, he used the Defense Production Act to increase testing capacity, and he will continue to use the DPA.

The administration has invested $3 billion to expand the number of at-home tests. There are now 20,000 free testing sites across the United States. The administration has also made sure private insurance covers PCR testing and will also cover at-home testing in the new year.  The administration sending out 50 million tests to help people without private insurance. 

The administration will purchase half a billion at-home rapid tests this winter to be distributed for free to Americans that want them. The initial delivery of these tests from the manufacturer will be in January. There will be a website where Americans can go to get at-home tests delivered to their home for free. The administration will determine how many tests each household may request,.