President Donald Trump plans to announce Thursday the purchase of 150 million rapid Covid-19 tests as part of a $750 million agreement with Abbott Laboratories, a White House official confirmed.

Trump plans to use his speech at the Republican National Convention to announce the deal, the official said.

“This is a major development that will help our country to remain open, get Americans back to work, and kids back to school,” White House communications director Alyssa Farah said in a statement to CNBC. “The Trump Administration is proud to partner with Abbott labs to make this purchase possible to help the American people.”

Word of the plans was first reported by Politico.

The Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use approval late Wednesday to Abbott for its new coronavirus antigen test, which it said is the first Covid-19 test that costs about $5 and …continued .
[Source: CNBC News]