White House says COVID-19 test kit website will go live in early January
A new website to allow U.S. citizens to order COVID-19 testing kits directly from the federal government will go live in early January, according to the White House.
“We will make the website available as soon as these tests are available. They will start to be available in January,” press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday.
The website is central to realizing the Biden administration’s effort to make 500 million rapid coronavirus tests available to the American public in response to surging COVID-19 cases following the arrival of the Omicron variant.
In addition, the White House announced that it will establish new testing sites and will use the Defense Production Act to help manufacture more tests.
As well as a testing surge, the White House has also proposed increased support for hospitals under strain and said that it will also redouble efforts to vaccinate the population and ensure that as many people as possible have received booster shots.
White House-mandated technology projects such as these are typically carried out by Technology Transformation Services at the General Services Administration or the U.S. Digital Service, but the White House did not respond to a request for comment prior to publication.
