Fifty million free at-home coronavirus testing kits have been shipped to U.S. households, White House officials said Wednesday, and additional efforts are underway to shore up the nation’s testing supply.
The kits out the door include 200 million tests, as each kit contains four of them, and represent about 85 percent of initial orders, White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients said during a news briefing. The remaining orders will be shipped in the next few days, he added.
“This is an effort that has no precedent,” Zients said. “There’s been incredibly strong demand and incredibly strong execution, shipping 200 million tests directly to Americans doorsteps.”
Also Wednesday, federal officials said they issued a formal request for information to the testing industry with the goal of boosting U.S. manufacturing and capacity for the coming year.
Tom Inglesby, the nation’s coronavirus testing coordinator, said the request seeks proposed solutions for market volatility and supply chain issues. It also asks what is needed to scale up manufacturing and develop new technology.
White House officials will use that information to shape a long-term testing strategy, knowing that demand will wane as the omicron surge recedes. Testing will remain critical to the U.S. pandemic response, Inglesby said, and the moves being made now will help strengthen the nation’s testing infrastructure.
“We’re taking steps now to sustain and expand the domestic testing capacity in this country,” he said. “And we’ll be ready if we face a new variant or surge in the future.”
