Defense Department signs deal to kickstart delivery of 500M free COVID tests

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The Biden administration has finalized a contract with a test manufacturer to begin to provide Americans with 500 million free COVID-19 tests, Fox News has confirmed.

The Department of Defense, in coordination with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, awarded the $51.6 million contract to Goldbelt Security, LLC, located in Newport News, Virginia, for delivery of over-the-counter COVID-19 test kits.

According to the Defense Department, the procurement was funded through the American Rescue Plan Act, which supplies medical resources to different parts of the nation.

Other contracts are set to be awarded, with tests coming from a variety of providers and distributors. Once more information is made available about how to purchase the tests, it will be shared online at defense.gov.

To help combat Omicron, the Biden administration is opening up more Covid testing sites and plans to deliver 500 million COVID tests to Americans.

WHITE HOUSE TOUTS MASSIVE COVID-19 TEST ORDER, BUT AMERICANS ARE STILL WAITING

In December, President Biden announced that 500 million coronavirus tests had been ordered by the administration and would be accessible free of charge in January.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday that the website to order the tests would become available after tests were available.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki speaks to reporters in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on December 10, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

"The first delivery from manufacturers will start later this month — that’s our expectation," Psaki told reporters after noting that the Request for Proposal (RFP) distributed to contractors closed Tuesday and is currently being evaluated by the administration.

"When we have those deliveries in hand, we will put the website up, make it available, so that people can order tests at that point in time," she said.

A sign was posted at the front of this CVS pharmacy at the Capitol in Jackson, Miss., Monday, Jan. 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

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Though Psaki said the first shipment of tests would arrive in January, she could not specify how many tests would be included in that shipment when pressed by reporters. 

Testing shortages hit the nation hard during the holiday season as cases spiked with the spread of the highly contagious omicron variant.

Fox News' Caitlin McFall contributed to this article.