© Getty ImagesWhite House awards $230M to help produce over-the-counter, rapid COVID-19 tests
The Biden administration is funding the mass production of a rapid, over-the-counter COVID-19 test, White House officials announced Monday.
Andy Slavitt, White House COVID-19 adviser, said the administration will provide $230 million to a company called Ellume, which received authorization for the test in December.
"Thanks to this contract, they'll be able to scale their production to manufacture more than 19 million test kits per month by the end of this year," Slavitt told reporters.
The move is a significant step forward in expanding the reach of rapid, at-home coronavirus tests, something experts have been advocating for months.
The test is 95 percent effective and gives results in about 15 minutes. It can be used to test symptomatic people as well as those without symptoms, in order to help with surveillance.
Still, it will take time to increase manufacturing. The company is currently able to ship 100,000 kits a month to the U.S. The new contract will guarantee the U.S. 8.5 million kits a month, but not until the end of the year.