HHS Moves to Expand COVID-19 Testing
- February 19, 2021
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will devote more than $1.6 billion to expand COVID-19 testing capacity across the country, the agency said February 17.
HHS plans to invest $650 million to expand testing for K-8 schools and underserved congregate settings, such as homeless shelters, through regional coordination “hubs,” the agency said.
To help address testing shortages, the administration also will allocate $815 million to ramp up the domestic manufacturing of testing supplies and raw materials.
In addition, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will invest nearly $200 million to expand genomic sequencing capabilities to better identify variants and prevent and mitigate their spread.