U.S. to restart free COVID test program as cases spike
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Contributor since / Followers
Contributor since / Followers
3 months ago
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- The Biden administration announced on Friday that it would resume a program to distribute free at-home COVID-19 tests to the American public in late September as the virus continues to gain ground in the U.S. ahead of a potential spike in the holiday season.
- During a briefing, government officials said that the American public will soon be able to use the COVIDtests.gov website to order four free at-home COVID-19 tests.
- The over-the-counter tests are designed to detect the latest variants circulating in the U.S. and are valid for use through the end of 2024. Listed makers of at-home COVID-19 tests include Becton, Dickinson (NYSE:BDX), QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL), Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT), and Roche (OTCQX:RHHBY) (OTCQX:RHHBF).
- “These tests will help keep families and their loved ones safe this fall and winter season,” Dawn O’Connell, an assistant secretary for preparedness and response at the Department of Health and Human Services, said.
- The intuitive coincides with a recent spike in COVID-19 cases and follows Thursday’s FDA approval of retooled COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer (PFE)/BioNTech (BNTX) and Moderna (MRNA) adjusted for the KP.2 strain of the Omicron variant.
- The latest data from the CDC indicates that positivity in COVID tests has reached 18% over the past seven days, compared to ~17% over the past four weeks.