INSIDE SWAB

Biden Promises 500 Million At-Home Tests Will Be Sent Out for Free to Fight Omicron

The White House will invoke the Defense Production Act and reportedly plans to create a website where people will be able to order tests to their homes.

It took the Omicron variant just 20 days from when it was first detected in the United States to become the most dominant strain in the nation. On Tuesday, President Joe Biden will announce a long list of measures that he hopes will slow down its astounding spread. First up, the president will promise to buy a half-billion at-home, rapid tests that will be sent out to Americans for free starting in January, and is invoking the Defense Production Act to generate test kits. According to The New York Times, the government plans to create a website where people will be able to order tests to their homes at zero cost. On top of that, Biden will announce new federal testing sites that will be set up around the nation, the first of which will appear in New York City this week. The federal government is also deploying 1,000 military medical professionals to help at overburdened hospitals, and six emergency-response teams will be immediately deployed to Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, Arizona, New Hampshire, and Vermont.