WASHINGTON, Jan 4, Reuters - The Biden administration is finalizing contracts for 500 million rapid COVID 19 tests that it plans to distribute for free to Americans who request them, spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Tuesday.
Since its detection on December 1, the Omicron variant of the coronavirus has been widely spread across the United States, replacing Delta as the dominant strain and sparking a new wave of infections that have pushed recorded daily cases near the 1 million mark on Monday.
Psaki did not say anything about how soon the tests will be available. She said that the first shipment from manufacturers is expected to come soon, and the administration is in the process of finalizing the contracts.
She added that the website to request the free tests will be up and running later this month.
Psaki said that this is about making them free and accessible to the people who want them.
President Joe Biden announced in December that the free test initiative would be in place, as the Omicron variant sent Americans scrambling to get tests. Long lines are often available, and tests have become hard to find in many areas.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that the Omicron variant is estimated to account for over 95% of the coronaviruses in the United States as of Jan. 1, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Tuesday.
The fast-spreading variant was first detected in November in southern Africa and Hong Kong and has since swept through the globe at lightning speed, although signs that it may cause milder symptoms than previous variants have offered some relief.