White House soft-launches COVID-19 test request website

By ZEKE MILLER and MATT O’BRIEN
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has quietly launched its website for Americans to request free at-home COVID-19 tests, a day before the site was scheduled to officially launch. The website, COVIDTests.gov, now includes a link for “every home in the U.S.” to order four tests, to be delivered by the Postal Service. It marks the latest step by President Joe Biden to address criticism of low inventory and long lines for testing during a nationwide surge in COVID-19 cases due to the omicron variant. A White House official website is “currently in its beta phase” and operating at a “limited capacity ahead of its official launch” on Wednesday.