White House revives program offering free COVID-19 tests by mail

Dec. 15 (UPI) -- The White House is bringing bring back a popular program that provides free at-home COVID-19 tests through the mail to any family around the country that requests them.

Beginning Thursday, households can place orders for as many as four free testing kits at COVIDTests.gov, even if as many were ordered and shipped during the previous rollout after the Omicron wave peaked in January.

The test-by-mail program, which distributed 600 million exams overall, was suspended during the summer after Congress failed to provide funding to keep it going.

Without more cash, Biden administration officials feared the government would run out of the home kits by winter -- when they likely would be needed the most.

The conundrum forced the White House to formulate a strategy around tax dollars left over from the American Rescue Plan.

The administration is seeking to fund the program by repurposing it under President Joe Biden's Winter Preparedness Plan -- a bill that holds a pricetag of about $10 billion.

As part of the plan, the White House will also expand COVID-19 testing options during winter months, make vaccinations and treatments readily available to everyone, distribute the free tests at trusted locations and allow for increased vaccinations in the event of a major surge.

A fact sheet released by the White House also reveals a winter playbook for nursing homes and long-term care facilities.

The administration also wants to make more protective masks available in locations with lots of foot traffic, create more mobile vaccination sites and ready the Strategic National Stockpile in the event that states run low on critical supplies during a national emergency.

However, the measure was all but certain to face serious opposition from Republicans preparing to retake control of the House in January.

Meanwhile, public health officials have warned recently that the nation faces an increased risk of another major wave during the holiday season due to cold weather and people traveling more.

Vaccinations have helped to slow the spread of COVID-19 throughout the year, but the White House said the majority of Americans were not following up and getting the booster shot that serves to prolong immunity.

Only about 14% of eligible adults in the United States have received the booster shot, while the number of deaths, infections and hospitalizations are on the rise again across the nation, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.