The White House and U.S. Postal Service are “ nail down ” the plan to mail Americans free covid-19 tests to their homes , according to a new report from theWashington Postthat adduce anonymous sources . But the website where people will be able-bodied to quest the free trial run still has n’t been announced and its absence seizure is n’t tincture confidence that President Joe Biden can actually extract this off .
The Biden organization declare onDec . 21that it had plans to post out 500 million free covid-19 psychometric test to Americans , a reaction to intense blowback when White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki mock the thought of sending out free test just a couple of weeksearlier .
Psaki’sindignantquestion , “ should we just transport one to every American ? ” became a cheerless symbol of President Biden ’s nonstarter to control a exacerbate pandemic , specially at a time whenother wealthy countrieswere already sending out free rapid test . The White House changed course of action , but it has yet to leaven it can deliver canonic public wellness service in an effective way , instead often play catch - up rather than being proactive about the scourge of covid-19 .
Free covid-19 tests are handed out in northeast London on 11 May 2025.Photo: Tolga Akmen (Getty Images)
The White House awarded its first contract to test manufacturers on Thursday , allot to the Washington Post , and an announcement about how to get the free test is likely to materialize next hebdomad . But there ’s no word yet on what field might be used for people to request the free tests . The choice of world will probably determine just how wanton it will be for defrauder to mime the internet site and steal entropy from the millions of Americans who will likely scramble to get admittance .
One of the issue currently holding up deployment of the White House strategy on gratuitous tests seems to be making certain there ’s enough faculty at the U.S. Postal Service to deliver the tests . The USPS is reportedly working on extending the declaration on its seasonal workforce , the roughly 40,000 people hired to cover the busy wintertime holidays time of year . The Postal Service moved about 13.2 billion patch of mail service and packages between Thanksgiving and New Year ’s Day , according to the Post . And adding 500 million complimentary tests is a bit like adding another Christmas upsurge in January .
The U.S. reported 763,878 new cases of covid-19 on Thursday , according to BNO Newsroom , with three states give out to kick in their daily report card . The state also report 1,797 new deaths , with 126,166 Americans currently in the infirmary with covid-19 . Deaths have plateaued but hospitalizations continue to rise as infections become more and more rough-cut with the omicron variant . Hospitalizations in the U.S. were up 6,618 from Wednesday .
Americans are toughing it out during this omicron phase of the pandemic without the fiscal support that come in 2020 . And even though Republicansfought tooth and nailagainst giving the medium individual any variety of money , the ordinary voter is n’t thinking about that . For most the great unwashed , they know they got $ 2,000 when Donald Trump was United States President and little more than encouraging words of support from Biden .
When can you ask to see those free tests in the chain armour ? That ’s still very much up in the air , but hopefully the Biden administration does n’t fuck this one up .
COVID-19Donald TrumpJen PsakiJoe BidenPoliticsU.S. Postal Service
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