Administration buying 8.5M rapid at-home tests
WASHINGTON — The White House announced Monday it is buying 8.5 million rapid coronavirus tests that can be taken at home without a prescription and that yield immediate results.
The $231.8 million contract will allow the Australian company Ellume, which manufacturers the tests, to quickly scale up its production and create a manufacturing facility in the United States.
Ellume’s home coronavirus test was the first overthe-counter, rapid coronavirus home test to be authorized by the Food and Drug Administration. It was approved Dec. 15. But the test was expected to be available only in limited quantities.