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Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer Tuesday said he received his free COVID-19 tests through the mail under President Biden‘s new testing initiative, but noted the at-home kits were “made in China.”
Hemmer, co-host of “America’s Newsroom,” praised the federal government and the United States Postal Service (USPS) for getting the tests out quickly after he and many other Americans put in the request last week for free tests. But he noted when he turned the test package over the “fine print” revealed the tests were manufactured in China.
“I got mine yesterday,” Hemmer said, holding up the orange kit. “All four of them came. Congrats U.S. government. U.S. Postal Service did a great job. Got my four tests. And on the back of the fine print, Dana, it is made in China.”
“Of course,” replied co-host Dana Perino.
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The free at-home tests were part of the White House’s newly launched initiative to work with the U.S. Postal Service to mail out 500 million at-home coronavirus tests to Americans in the coming weeks to address a testing kit shortage amid the recent omicron surge.
Hemmer received the 15-minute at-home rapid antigen tests from iHealth Labs Inc. The company is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, but the test is “Made in China,” according to the label.
iHealth is a unit of the Chinese company Andon Health Co. Ltd., according to Reuters. It was awarded a $1.275 billion contract for COVID-19 rapid tests with the U.S. government on Jan. 13, according to the Defense.gov website.
The Biden administration said Tuesday not all the 500 million tests were made in China, but there are not enough American-made tests to meet the demand, so they sourced kits made “in other parts of the world.”
One of the COVID-19 tests distributed as part of the Biden administration’s effort to beef up at-home testing. (Fox Digital)
“We are procuring as many US-made at-home tests as are available to purchase, while also purchasing additional, FDA authorized at-home tests that are made in other parts of the world,” an administration official told Fox News Digital in a statement Tuesday. “Together this ensures that we are making available as many at-home tests for the American people as possible and importantly, we’re doing so in a way that ensures we are not interfering with other channels where people can get at home tests, including through their states, pharmacies and online retailers.”
The official added that all tests – regardless of origin – were subjected to the emergency use authorization process through the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
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“Importantly, every at-home test that is available to the American people has underwent a rigorous FDA approval process guaranteeing that it is of the highest quality,” the official said.
The iHealth at-home test is labeled “authorized by the FDA under an Emergency Use Authorization.”
The iHealth test says on the back it is “made in China.” (Fox Digital)
iHealth Labs Inc. is one of several COVID-test providers. Others contracted with the U.S. government include Roche Diagnostics Corp. headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, and Abbott Rapid Dx North America LLC, headquartered in Orlando, Florida, according to contracts found at the Defense.gov website.
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This isn’t the first time Chinese-made coronavirus supplies have raised eyebrows.
The Office of the Attending Physician of the U.S. Congress has provided congressional offices with KN95 masks for lawmakers and their staff that have “Made in China“
printed on them.
(Fox News hosts Bill Hemmer and Dana Perino. (Fox News Channel))
HOUSE REPUBLICANS SLAM GOVERNMENT PURCHASE OF ‘MADE IN CHINA’ KN95 MASKS FOR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS
Fox News obtained photos of the KN95 masks provided to members of Congress. The masks have “Made in China” printed on the side in bold text, and the package includes a sheet of paper with a stamp of a red star.
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More than 120 House Republicans expressed their “disbelief and outrage” in a letter last week that taxpayer dollars are being used to purchase the face coverings manufactured in China, when “American alternatives are available.”
Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
