Biden Announces Purchase of 500 Million Additional COVID Tests

President Joe Biden has announced the acquisition of 500 cardinal further COVID-19 tests arsenic portion of an effort to boost investigating arsenic the federation contends with a surge of cases owed to the highly contagious Omicron variant.

The announcement adds to the 500 cardinal further at-home COVID-19 tests that the Biden medication purchased successful December, which commencement being distributed aboriginal this month. The medication is besides preparing a website that volition alteration radical to bid these tests for free.

“Today, arsenic a portion of the President’s remarks and briefing, helium volition denote that successful summation to the 500 cardinal tests that we are successful the process of acquiring, helium is directing his squad to procure 500 cardinal much tests to conscionable aboriginal demand,” a White House authoritative said.

Experts admit that portion the further tests are sorely needed, they are not yet capable to conscionable the demands of a colonisation of 330 cardinal people.

Last week, a radical of legislature Democrats called connected the Biden medication to enactment up the nation’s investigating apparatus truthful that each American tin instrumentality astatine slightest 1 accelerated trial per week.

“Ensuring wide entree to escaped COVID-19 accelerated investigating is among the astir effectual nationalist wellness tools that the national authorities has astatine its disposal, but the existent proviso shortage is preventing effectual utilization of this commonsense mitigation strategy,” they wrote successful a missive addressed to the President.

“While we are pleased to spot that the medication has committed to purchasing 500 cardinal antigen tests that volition beryllium distributed passim the state for free, we judge that the menace of the Omicron variant demands the astir broad nationalist wellness effect imaginable from the national government,” they added. “We powerfully impulse you to see and instrumentality the pursuing policies to physique connected your administration’s efforts to summation entree to COVID-19 accelerated tests.”