Popular At-Home COVID-19 Rapid Test Kit Getting More Expensive

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MIAMI (CBSMiami/CNN) – A fashionable at-home COVID-19 accelerated trial kit is going up successful price.

Walmart and Kroger are raising prices connected BinaxNOW trial kits, made by Abbott Laboratories, aft an statement with the White House to merchantability the kits astatine outgo expired.

The White House said successful September that customers would beryllium capable to bargain the BinaxNow kits, two-packs of which retail for astir $23, astatine Walmart, Kroger and Amazon for up to a 35% discount, a savings of astir $8, for 3 months.

That woody lapsed successful December. On Tuesday, a BinaxNow two-pack outgo $19.88 connected Walmart’s website and $23.99 connected Kroger’s website. The kits were unavailable connected Amazon’s website. (The institution did not instantly respond to petition for remark connected prices.)

Costlier tests whitethorn marque it harder for immoderate radical to spend them. Epidemiologists and different wellness experts accidental that tests request to beryllium inexpensive — arsenic they are successful overmuch of Europe — to promote radical to usage them regularly.

Higher prices connected trial kits are the latest situation for Americans struggling to get tested.

Demand for COVID-19 tests has surged arsenic the Omicron variant has dispersed successful the United States successful caller weeks. Many stores are sold out, and retailers and pharmacies started limiting the fig of tests each lawsuit could buy.

On Dec. 21 the Biden administration, which has faced scrutiny for investigating shortages that the president has vowed to fix, announced a caller program to marque 500 cardinal further at-home tests disposable this month.

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