Americans can now order additional free at-home Covid-19 tests supplied by the US government.
As of Monday afternoon, covidtest.gov is accepting online orders for an additional set of four free Covid-19 tests. President Joe Biden announced the second round of free Covid-19 tests last week during his State of the Union address.
In January, the government launched its effort to provide free rapid antigen tests to any household that requested them through that website or by calling 800-232-0233.
The President had announced in December his plan to make half a billion tests available to Americans by mail, as the Omicron variant was surging across the US.
The Biden administration initially made 500 million free tests available, but fewer than 300 million have been ordered, White House assistant press secretary Kevin Munoz said.
Youngstown City Health Department worker Faith Terreri grabs two at-home COVID-19 test kits to be handed out during a distribution event, Dec. 30, 2021, in Youngstown, Ohio.
The White House previously said the tests were expected to ship about seven to 12 days after they are requested.
Covid-19 has killed more than 952,000 people and infected about 79.1 million in the United States since January 2020, according to data by Johns Hopkins University.
“Let’s stop looking at COVID as a partisan dividing line and see it for what it is: a God-awful disease,” Biden said in a tweet following his announcement. “Let’s stop seeing each other as enemies — and start seeing each other for who we really are: fellow Americans.”
The White House unveiled a new strategy laying out the next phase of its response to the coronavirus pandemic on Wednesday, outlining a vision that involves fewer disruptions to daily life while preparing for the unpredictable potential of another game-changing variant.