The US Postal Service will transport free COVID-19 tests ordered through the White House to the homes of eligible Americans.
On Thursday, December 15, according to White House sources, the U.S. Postal Service will begin taking requests for COVID testing through the website CovidTests.gov.
Free COVID-19 Tests Access To Reopen
The package from the USPS is supposed to include four complimentary tests. In January, Vice President Joe Biden of the United States announced the commencement of a program to provide free COVID-19 exams to anyone who requests them.
A total of eight free screenings have been made available to each home thanks to the program’s expansion in March.
The short form for requesting the free COVID-19 tests requires only the recipients’ names and postal codes. After a week or two, you will receive your free sample.
The White House is getting ready to announce that, as part of a larger winter preparedness strategy, it will temporarily reopen access to its stockpile of tests.
A White House spokesman did not answer questions about the status of the program or the remaining stockpile of tests. A source close to the situation, however, said that the Department of Health and Human Services spent scarce funds on further at-home examinations. The money came from the American Recovery Plan’s surplus.
Congress has refused to appropriate more money to help increase the federal government’s stockpile of diagnostic tools, therapeutics, and preventatives, therefore the reaction has been hampered by a lack of resources.
More than $9 billion from the annual appropriations bill went toward combating the spread of COVID. The Biden administration has spent much of 2022 lobbying Congress for extra funding to combat the pandemic. The efforts, though, have slowed.
Read more: New bivalent COVID-19 Vaccines Have Been Approved By The FDA For Infants As Young As Six Months
Program Halted Due To Lack Of Funds
This program was terminated in September by the federal government due to a lack of resources. Since Congress has not appropriated funds to replace the nation’s stockpile of tests, the website said that ordering through the program will be discontinued.
A reliable source suggested back then that the remaining exams be held back till later this year.
The same source also noted that the broader COVID-19 preparedness strategy and response will be impacted by Congress’ lack of action, with the situation expected to worsen over time.
Dr. Anthony Fauci predicts that COVID-19, like the flu, will appear only during certain times of the year.
Public health experts warned that the suspension of the free service would make it more difficult for people to get COVID-19 tests, especially those without health insurance, those living in rural areas, and those with mobility challenges.
The start of a new school year and the arrival of cooler weather coincided with the suspension at the time. Free COVID-19 testing has been called a very crucial aspect of pandemic response, as previously mentioned by Columbia University professor of epidemiology and medicine Wafaa El-Sadr.
Read more: Covid-19 is man-made that escaped from laboratory, scientist who worked at Wuhan reveals
