The Biden administration is ending its giveaway of at-home COVID tests on Friday due to insufficient funding from Congress.
"Ordering through this program will be suspended on Friday, September 2, because Congress hasn't provided additional funding to replenish the nation's stockpile of tests," the government's ordering website states. The program is still accepting orders up until that date.
The White House began sending out the free and easy-to-use test kits in January as part of its effort to combat spiking COVID cases from the onset of the highly transmissible Omicron variant. Since then, the federal government has distributed an estimated 600 million tests through its website.
Back in March, the White House asked Congress for an additional $22.5 billion to fund various COVID relief efforts, including testing resources like at-home kits, warning that failure to do so would result in insufficient testing. Due to an impasse in Congress, the funding was not granted.
"This is an action we've been forced to take that will help preserve our limited remaining supply, ensuring we have a supply of tests available in the fall" said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre to reporters on Monday. "We're trying to be forward thinking, forward leaning here when we might face a new rise in infections and more acute need."
While the free program may be halting, Americans can still access free testing through private insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, and 1,500 community-based testing sites, Jean-Pierre added.
The White House has not disclosed how many tests it has left in its stockpile.