US Government Distributes 500 Million COVID Test Kits to Citizens by Mail for Free

A notice at a CVS pharmacy in California, USA, stating 'No stock of home COVID-19 test kits.' Photo by Yonhap News

As the Omicron variant spreads, the U.S. administration is distributing free COVID-19 test kits in response.

On the 14th (local time), The New York Times cited a senior U.S. government official stating that a COVID-19 testing site will be opened on the 19th, and 500 million COVID-19 test kits will be distributed free of charge by mail.

This fulfills President Biden's promise last December to purchase 500 million rapid at-home COVID-19 test kits and distribute them to the public for free.

Including an additional 500 million test kits recently announced by President Biden, the total number of test kits will reach 1 billion.

Those who want test kits must apply through the related website, with a limit of 4 test kits per household. Delivery will take 7 to 12 days after application.

However, The New York Times pointed out that even in this case, Americans may not receive the test kits until the end of this month at the earliest, which could be after the peak of COVID-19 spread in some areas.

The purchase and distribution of 500 million test kits will cost about 4 billion dollars (approximately 4.761 trillion won).