Free COVID tests are back. But there are more accurate tests for sale.
CBSN
Manufacturers of the most accurate home COVID-19 tests on the market say they were left out again from the Biden administration's latest round of free orders through COVIDTests.gov, which for a seventh time will rely on less sensitive "antigen" tests, which are generally the cheaper options available on drugstore shelves.
Federal health officials have justified the millions they have spent on device manufacturers for the latest waves as critical to subsidizing U.S. factories capable of producing tests ahead of another potential pandemic, during a time when demand has evaporated.
Taxpayer dollars have flowed largely towards manufacturers of inexpensive rapid antigen tests like Access Bio in New Jersey and iHealth in California, instead of more accurate "molecular" alternatives that the Food and Drug Administration has also greenlighted.
