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

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Updated January 6, 2022 at 9:46 p.m. EST|Published January 6, 2022 at 9:12 p.m. EST
President Biden speaks during a coronavirus response team meeting at the White House on Jan. 4. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post)

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, those people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss private planning sessions. Officials aim to begin shipping the kits by mid-January. A Postal Service spokesman confirmed the details of the program to The Washington Post on Friday evening.