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Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., blasted the Biden administration for buying millions of coronavirus test kits that were made in China, saying taxpayer dollars should not be supporting “General Secretary Xi and his genocidal regime.”
The White House recently launched a new initiative with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to mail out 500 million at-home coronavirus tests to respond to the latest omicron surge. A major supplier of the at-home rapid antigen tests is iHealth Labs Inc, which was awarded a $1.275 billion contract with the U.S. government on Jan. 13, according to the Defense.gov website.
BILL HEMMER CALLS OUT COVID-19 TESTS BRANDED ‘MADE IN CHINA’
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. In announcing the contract with the U.S. government, the company said it will supply at-home coronavirus antigen test kits for 250 million people.
President Biden meets with China’s President Xi Jinping during a virtual summit from the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., Nov. 15, 2021. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)
“Senator Scott thinks it is unacceptable that the Biden administration would spend American taxpayer dollars on COVID tests from Communist China, which just goes directly to supporting General Secretary Xi and his genocidal regime, instead of supporting American manufacturers and jobs,” Scott’s office said in a statement to Fox News Digital Tuesday.
The statement continued: “The federal government has a responsibility to support American manufacturers, and we cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that it was the Chinese Communist Party that lied about this deadly virus, tried to hide it, and has continuously covered up the origins of COVID-19.”
Scott sent a letter to the Biden administration earlier this month urging the administration to prioritize American-made COVID-19 test kits and to strictly prohibit the purchase of tests made in Communist China.
WASHINGTON, DC – MAY 26: U.S. Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) speaks during a news conference about inflation on Capitol Hill on May 26, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Drew Angerer)
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.”
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“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).
“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.”
One of the covid-19 tests distributed as part of the Biden Administration’s effort to beef up at-home testing. The test is labeled “Made in China.” (Fox Digital)
Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer Tuesday called attention to the China issue on air. He 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 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.
HOUSE REPUBLICANS SLAM GOVERNMENT PURCHASE OF ‘MADE IN CHINA’ KN95 MASKS FOR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS
Other COVID test providers who 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.
This isn’t the first time Chinese-made coronavirus supplies have raised eyebrows.
The Office of the Attending Physician of the U.S. Congress provided congressional offices with masks for lawmakers and their staff that have “Made in China“ printed on them.
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.
