Each residential address is limited to one order, which has two rapid at-home antigen Covid-19 tests. These accessible tests require access to a Bluetooth-enabled smartphone and an iOS or Android app.
“We developed this plan in close partnership with members of the disability community. An issue raised consistently was that individuals who are blind or low vision are often unable to utilize rapid self-tests on their own,” Jha told reporters during Thursday’s Covid-19 response news conference. “The President has made clear he is committed to addressing the needs of individuals with disabilities, regardless of where they live or the level of community transmission. Ensuring everyone has equitable access to Covid-19 testing and all other critical mitigation strategies is of the utmost importance.”
Earlier this year, following an outcry from disability advocates, the CDC updated its list of those with increased risk of severe Covid to include people with disabilities.
And in mid-February, the National Institutes of Health’s Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics Tech program announced an effort to create accessible at-home Covid tests, while the Department of Health and Human Services called on manufacturers to assess at-home Covid tests’ operability for those with disabilities.