By Blake Haas

BLOOMINGTON – Illinois’ Senior Senator says President Biden’s plan of sending at-home COVID-19 test kits to Americans is ‘way behind,’ as cases of Omicron skyrocket.

Last month, President Biden said his administration would buy half a billion at-home COVID-19 tests free of charge.

However, Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) says local pharmacies told a different story while he was in Springfield over the holidays.

“The wife and I went out to buy at the local drug stores any tests kits that we could many times we found the shelves were empty; there’s just not enough of them…We’ve got to do a better job. The supply chain has to strengthen, and test kits have to be available and affordable.”

Durbin, who is a close ally of President Biden, said the Biden administration has been ‘slow to respond’ to the supply chain issues related to at-home test kits.

“I think the President gets it; I think that his announcement a week or two ago that we were going to dramatically increase production is long overdue,” Durbin told Pete McMurray. “I’m a loyal friend of this President, but I think the administration has been slow to respond. Now it’s time to make sure those test kits are available and affordable.”

Last week, the Biden administration finalized a $51.6 million deal with Goldbelt Security to deliver at-home COVID tests. According to CNBC, the agreement is funded by the American Rescue Plan passed last spring.

Blake Haas can be reached at [email protected].