On Aug. 27, 2020, the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services and the Department of and Defense awarded a contract for $760 million to Abbott for delivery of 150 million rapid, Abbott BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag Card Point of Care (POC) SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic tests to expand strategic, evidence-based testing in the U.S.

This announcement was made in coordination with the Food and Drug Administration’s emergency use authorization for this new type of antigen test in which results can be read directly from the testing card.  Made in America, for Americans, these new tests exemplify President Trump’s whole-of-America approach, which harnesses industry and innovation to ensure America leads the world in combating COVID-19.

Through Operation Warp Speed and in partnership with Abbott Laboratories, final production was to be scaled to an unprecedented 50 million tests monthly.