WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden on Thursday directed his administration to double the commitment of free, at-home COVID-19 tests being made available to Americans, increasing the number to a total of 1 billion kits, amid a tidal wave of cases and criticism over shortages.
The president is also planning to make high-quality N95 masks available for free."Today, I am directing my team to procure an additional 500 million more tests to distribute for free," Biden said during remarks on the pandemic. "That will mean a billion tests in total to meet future demand, and we’ll continue to work with retailers and online retailers to increase availability."The commitment builds on the government’s pledge in December to ship 500 million free COVID-19 tests through the U.S.
mail. People will use a new federal website to order the tests, which is being rolled out next week. Biden said the administration expects to have 375 million of the at-home rapid tests this month.Biden also announced that for the first time, his administration is planning to make N95 masks, which are most effective at preventing transmission of the virus, available for free.
He said his administration would announce details next week.The federal government has a stockpile of more than 750 million N95 masks, the White House said this week.