Washington state will distribute 5.5 million rapid at-home COVID-19 tests to residents over the coming weeks, Governor Jay Inslee said during a Jan. 5 media briefing.
Four things to know:
1. State officials ordered the tests from vendors for about $50 million, according to The Seattle Times.
2. Washington has already received 800,000 tests and is slated to get 2 million more by Jan. 7. Another 2 million tests are set to arrive next week.
3. Mr. Inslee said the state will make the tests available in multiple ways to ensure equitable access. One million tests will go to schools, and another 1 million tests will go to local health organizations to distribute in their communities.
4. State health officials also partnered with Amazon and CareEvolution, a software company, to develop a web portal that Washington residents can use to order free tests for delivery to their homes. The state has allocated 3.5 million tests for this effort, and the portal is slated to launch in mid-January.