White House, USPS finalizing plans to ship coronavirus test kits to U.S. households...

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/01/06/biden-covid-tests-usps/

No paywall
https://archive.fo/s4kuj


The White House is finalizing details with the U.S. Postal Service to deliver 500 million coronavirus test kits to households across the country, according to four people familiar with the plans, kick-starting a key part of President Biden’s response to the raging omicron variant.

The administration will launch a website allowing individuals to request the rapid tests, the people said, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private planning sessions. Officials aim to begin shipping the kits by mid-January.

Test manufacturers and distributors seeking to provide a share of the 500 million tests have submitted proposals to the government, and the Biden administration on Thursday evening awarded its first contract toward the purchase, said a person with knowledge of the testing plan. A formal announcement on the effort could come as soon as next week.

The Postal Service is currently negotiating with its four labor unions to extend the seasonal workforce — the roughly 40,000 people brought in each year to help the agency work through a glut of holiday packages. The agency moved 13.2 billion pieces of mail and parcels between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve.

*snip*

[BigmanPigman]

1. DeJoy is still in charge so we can expect them to

arrive sometime this summer.

[Grasswire2]

2. and the unhoused?

Any plan for them?

Plenty of people living on the streets.

[brooklynite]

3. So, what's the value here?

My wife and I bought four 2-piece test kits.

We each did two tests when a friend whom we had had dinner with tested positive.

We gave one to an acquaintance who was joining up for Christmas Dinner where everyone was going to be tested.

We used two more after flying back from Christmas vacation.

How is sending one test kit to everyone going to be useful in the long-term?

[keithbvadu2]

4. DeJoy will deliver them to a warehouse for Jared/Donald to sell.

DeJoy will deliver them to a warehouse for Jared/Donald to sell.