US to Redistribute Test Kits Amid COVID Resurgence... Bio Stocks on Alert

Free Distribution Resumed After About 4 Months of Suspension
Related Stocks Show Uptrend Following Distribution News

As the spread of COVID-19 becomes more apparent in the United States, U.S. health authorities have decided to provide free COVID-19 test kits to households once again.

The COVID-19 self-test kit shows a positive result.

On the 25th (local time), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced that households can order COVID-19 test kits from the authorities and receive them for free starting that day.

The authorities explained that through the website, households can apply for 4 test kits per order, and deliveries will begin next week.

This marks the first time in about four months that the U.S. is providing free COVID-19 test kits again.

Previously, the government website for ordering diagnostic kits started in January 2022 and continued until the public health emergency ended this year. The U.S. authorities stated that 755 million free kits were distributed during that period.

However, on May 11, after ending the COVID-19 public health emergency after more than three years, the previously free COVID-19 diagnostic tests were converted to paid services.

Unless covered by low-income health insurance (Medicaid) or senior health insurance (Medicare), individuals had to bear the costs themselves.

The health authorities decided to provide free test kits again due to a significant recent increase in patients infected with COVID-19 variants.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), during the week of the 3rd to the 9th, there were 20,500 COVID-19 hospitalizations nationwide, an 8% increase compared to the previous week.

This is more than three times the number recorded two months ago in July.

Meanwhile, on the 20th, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a list of 12 diagnostic kit companies in the U.S., which included Access Bio, an affiliate of the Korean company PharmGen Science. Access Bio is the second largest among the 12 manufacturers, receiving support amounting to $88,007,000 (approximately 117.965 billion KRW).

Access Bio also announced on the 21st that it had signed a supply contract for COVID-19 antigen self-test kits worth the same amount.

Accordingly, as of 9:40 a.m. on the 27th, Access Bio's stock was trading at 11,880 KRW, up 3.76% from the previous trading day.

Another COVID-19 diagnostic kit-related stock, Humasis, was also trading at 2,465 KRW, up 13.59% from the previous trading day.