The Biden Administration is set to announce Wednesday a massive investment to expand access to rapid, at-home COVID-19 tests, according to multiple reports.
The White House is set to announce the $1 billion investment on Wednesday, which they say will facilitate the “purchase of rapid at-home Covid tests to further mobilize our testing manufacturers to bring more to market,” according to an administration official.
The news comes days after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized an at-home rapid test from U.S.-based ACON Laboratories.
The over-the-counter antigen test, known as Flowflex, “should significantly increase the availability of rapid, at-home tests and is expected to double rapid at-home testing capacity in the U.S. over the next several weeks,” Dr. Jeffrey Shuren, director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, wrote in a statement.
“By years end, the manufacturer plans to produce more than 100 million tests per month, and this number will rise to 200 million per month by February 2022,” Dr. Shuren wrote, adding: “We believe at-home diagnostic tests play a critical role in the fight against COVID-19.”
Demand has grown for at-home COVID-19 tests as offices and schools have opened nationwide, but supply has been limited in some places.
The news also comes one day after Australian company Ellume announced that it is recalling nearly 200,000 rapid at-home COVID tests due to a high rate of false positives.
This is a developing story. Check back later for further updates.
