Walmart, Amazon, Kroger Give Biden an Assist in Fighting COVID-19 With At-Cost Test Kits

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President Joe Biden lined up some pretty important allies in his mission to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, as Walmart, Amazon and Kroger all agreed to sell at-home COVID-19 tests to the public at cost.

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The tests will be available to buy in stores or online at discounts of up to 35% for the next three months, Fox Business reported, citing a senior Biden administration official.

The White House’s plan to expand access to affordable COVID-19 tests is part of a broader effort to battle the recent rise in cases tied to the delta variant. The effort also includes booster shots and mandatory vaccinations for federal employees. Other parts of the plan include the following:

• The Biden administration will use the Defense Production Act — along with nearly $2 billion — to procure about 280 million rapid COVID-19 tests.

• The Department of Health and Human Services will expand its free COVID-19 testing program to offer services at 10,000 pharmacies nationwide.

• Medicaid will be directed to offer at-home testing to beneficiaries for free.

• The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will be directed to require companies with 100 or more employees to either mandate vaccinations or require weekly COVID-19 testing. The rule should affect more than 80 million Americans.

Meanwhile, Amazon’s decision to offer affordable COVID-19 tests to customers further broadens its role in fighting the pandemic. As GOBankingRates previously reported, the online retailer recently received Food and Drug Administration approval for Emergency Use Authorization (EAU) of the Amazon Real-Time RT-PCR diagnostic test for detecting COVID-19 in the United States.

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The nasal swab test can be self-administered by any individual, with or without supervision from a healthcare professional. This allows Amazon employees to be tested at home or on-site prior to their work shifts.

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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Walmart, Amazon, Kroger Give Biden an Assist in Fighting COVID-19 With At-Cost Test Kits