White House has awarded hundreds of millions to entities with ties to China.
The return of the White House’s free COVID-19 test kits also brings back something else: the “Made-in-China” label.
The program, the fifth of its kind, allows each U.S. household to order up to four free tests online starting from Sept. 25, with shipments delivered through the U.S. Postal Service without charge.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) stated that it has awarded $600 million to 12 “domestic COVID-19 test manufacturers” to produce 200 million tests to replenish government stockpiles in addition to meeting the demands from orders on COVIDTests.gov.
But although the department described the spending as part of “critical investments in U.S. manufacturing” meant to “improve preparedness for COVID-19 and other pandemic threats of the future” and “strengthen the nation’s capacity to manufacture tests,” more than half of the funding has flowed to companies with connections in China.