Biden to speed authorization of at-home Covid tests Biden administration announces plan to speed authorization of at-home Covid tests
Government health experts will work with test-makers and guide them through a streamlined FDA process as part of a new $70 million program.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/biden-administration-announces-plan-accelerate-authorization-home-covid-tests-n1282255
By Heidi Przybyla
The Biden administration on Monday announced several steps aimed at making rapid, at-home Covid testing more widely available while lowering costs.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is streamlining its authorization process, while the National Institutes of Health will spend $70 million on a new program to accelerate test-makers through those regulatory hurdles. The funds will come from the American Rescue Plan, the $1.9 trillion Covid relief package President Joe Biden signed into law in March.
The announcement comes as businesses prepare to implement Biden’s vaccinate-or-test mandate. The administration has for months faced criticism that at-home rapid tests are not widely available and that those on the market are too expensive.
The FDA also said Monday it has issued emergency use authorization to another over-the-counter rapid antigen test by the company Celltrion Diatrust, bringing the total number of rapid, at-home tests available to the public to 10.