Brittany Murray/MediaNews Group/Long Beach Press-Telegram via Getty Images
(LOS ANGELES) — A funeral service was held on Monday for a 14-year-old girl who was killed during a Los Angeles police-involved shooting at a clothing store.
Valentina Orellana-Peralta was Christmas shopping with her mother at a North Hollywood Burlington Coat Factory store on Dec. 23, 2021, when police responded to multiple 911 calls reporting a suspect who was allegedly assaulting customers.
The 911 dispatch audio, surveillance video and body camera footage released by the LAPD show the graphic video of 24-year-old suspect, Daniel Elena Lopez, attacking female shoppers inside the store. Video evidence showed one woman being beaten while other customers were seen evacuating. Upon arrival, police opened fire on Lopez and he was later pronounced dead at the scene.
According to a video statement released by the LAPD, it is believed Orellana-Peralta was struck by a stray bullet, which skipped off the floor and entered though the wall of the dressing room she was in.
“We at the LAPD would like to express our most heartfelt condolences and profound regret for the loss of this innocent victim, Valentina Oriana Peralta. there are no words that can describe the depth of the sorrow we feel for this tragic outcome,” Stacy Spell, commanding officer of the Media Relations Division of the LAPD, said in a video statement.
At the funeral, mourners gather to honor Orellana-Peralta’s life. The young teen came to the United States with her mother just six months before her death. Her parents told reporters she had dreams of becoming an American citizen and a robotics engineer.
“We pray for peace and justice for this innocent blood spilled,” said Benjamin Crump, who is the attorney representing the slain 14-year-old girl’s family.
Al Sharpton delivered the eulogy at the funeral service, calling out the LAPD’s long history of injustice against people of color.
“Thirty-one years ago, I came to Los Angeles because the LAPD beat a man on the highway. His name was Rodney King,” said Sharpton. “And here we are again. How long will it take for you to get it right,” Sharpton said, calling for police reform and demanding a full investigation of the fatal shooting incident.
The LAPD and the California Department of Justice are conducting their own separate investigations into the shooting incident.
The officer who open fire has been placed on administrative leave until the police department reaches a conclusion in its investigation.
(NEW YORK) — An open door to an apartment unit where a space heater caught fire allowed the smoke to spread throughout all floors of a 19-story building in New York City on Sunday, Mayor Eric Adams told ABC News.
At least 17 people, including eight children, have died from the incident. More than 60 others were injured, according to the New York City Fire Department.
The city passed a law in 2018 mandating self-closing doors in all apartment buildings. It’s unclear whether those were installed at 333 East 181st St., located in the Tremont section of the Bronx. The high-rise was built as affordable housing in 1972 and has 120 units, according to city records.
“It appears the ability to have the smoke spread is due to the door being open,” Adams told ABC News in an interview Monday on Good Morning America. “There may have been a maintenance issue with this door and that is going to be part of the ongoing investigation.”
So far, investigators believe the building met all other standards for fire safety. There were a couple violations documented over the last few years but no outstanding issues, according to the mayor.
“This is all going to come out during the investigation,” he added. “This is really early in the investigation.”
The flames ignited Sunday morning before 11 a.m. ET, due to a malfunctioning electric space heater in a bedroom of a duplex apartment on the third floor. In less than three hours, smoke enveloped all 19 floors. The building’s smoke alarms were operable at the time of the blaze, according to the New York City Fire Department.
More than 200 firefighters rushed to the scene of the five-alarm fire, smashing windows to rescue trapped residents. The mayor described the incident as “horrific” but praised the firefighters as heroes.
“Many of them, of their oxygen tanks were on empty,” Adams told ABC News. “But instead of turning back and exiting the building, they pushed through, through the smoke.”
Many of the injured were located on the upper floors and likely suffered from severe smoke inhalation. Approximately 13 people are in Bronx hospitals with life-threatening injuries, according to the New York City Fire Department.
The New York City Fire Department previously reported that 19 people, including nine children, had died from the blaze, but the death toll was revised Monday due to a miscount.
All residents in need of a place to stay have been provided temporary shelter. They will later be moved into permanent housing as the building undergoes repairs, according to Adams.
“One thing about New York City, unfortunately, is that we are capable of dealing with crises,” he said. “We’ve dealt with so many of large proportion and we immediately kick in gear our coordinated efforts.”
The ongoing investigation into the deadly inferno is being led by the New York City Fire Department’s marshals.
The Bronx Park Phase III Preservation LLC, the name of the joint venture that owns the building, said in a statement Sunday that it was “devastated” over the tragedy.
“We are devastated by the unimaginable loss of life caused by this profound tragedy,” the statement read. “We are cooperating fully with the Fire Department and other city agencies as they investigate its cause, and we are doing all we can to assist our residents. Our thoughts are with the families and friends of those who lost their lives or were injured, and we are here to support them as we recover from this horrific fire.”
Sunday’s blaze was the deadliest to occur in New York City in three decades. A total of 73 people died in fires citywide in all of 2021.
ABC News’ Joshua Hoyos, Julia Jacobo, Aaron Katersky and Ileana Riveros contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.4 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 838,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
About 62.6% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Latest headlines:
-ICU, ventilator patients on the rise in New Jersey
-US hospitalizations reach record high
-Some immune-compromised Americans eligible for 4th dose this week
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Jan 10, 5:48 pm
Record-breaking 580,000 new pediatric COVID-19 cases reported in US
Amidst the nation’s most significant COVID-19 infection surge yet, new data released on Monday shows that more than half a million children tested positive for COVID-19, last week, according to a weekly report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association.
Last week alone, 580,000 children tested positive for COVID-19, marking a nearly three times more than two weeks prior, according to the organizations.
A total of 8.47 million children have tested positive for the virus since the onset of the pandemic, and nearly 11% of these children have tested positive in the past two weeks alone.
Children accounted for about 17.3% of the reported weekly COVID-19 cases last week, down again from previous weeks, when children accounted for more than a quarter of all new cases. For context, children under 18 make up 22.2% of the U.S. population.
Still, recent COVID-19 data could be skewed due to erratic and volatile reporting following the holidays. An artificial increase in the numbers could have resulted as more Americans get tested.
ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos
Jan 10, 4:44 pm
Harris County raises COVID threat level
In Harris County, Texas, which encompasses Houston, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo has raised the COVID-19 threat level to “red” — the highest level — due to an uptick in hospitalizations.
COVID-19 patients occupy 18% of all ICU beds in the county.
ABC News’ Matt Fuhrman
Jan 10, 4:29 pm
8 at-home tests per month soon covered by insurance
The Biden administration is moving forward on a rule to make at-home rapid tests reimbursable for insured Americans.
Beginning Jan. 15, Americans will get up to eight tests covered per month, as well as an unlimited number of tests covered if ordered or administered by a doctor or nurse.
“Insurance companies and health plans are required to cover 8 free over-the-counter at-home tests per covered individual per month. That means a family of four, all on the same plan, would be able to get up to 32 of these tests covered by their health plan per month. There is no limit on the number of tests, including at-home tests that are covered if ordered or administered by a health care provider following an individualized clinical assessment, including for those who may need them due to underlying medical conditions,” the Department of Health and Human Services said in a press release.
ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett
Jan 10, 3:54 pm
Republicans vow to block DC’s vaccine mandate
In Washington, D.C., a vaccine mandate for restaurants, nightclubs, bars and indoor venues is set to begin on Jan. 15.
But 19 House Republicans sent a letter to Mayor Muriel Bowser on Monday saying that the mandate “will not prevent the virus from spreading.”
“This sweeping mandate, however, will harm the District’s economic recovery and lock many Americans out of their capital city,” the Republicans wrote, adding, “We urge you to withdraw the Order.”
The city is seeing some improvement in COVID-19 case numbers, D.C. Health’s senior deputy director, Patrick Ashley, told reporters on Monday.
“We’re very hopeful based on that data that we are getting to a better spot,” Ashley said. “It’s still certainly high. It’s still an area for concern and we don’t expect that to go down overnight.”
(NEW YORK) — The deadly blaze that tore through a New York City building in the Tremont neighborhood of the Bronx has left many residents homeless, displaced or in need of basic necessities that they lost in the tragedy.
The fire killed at least 17 people, including eight children, and injured more than 60 others, according to the New York City Fire Department.
The community has quickly gotten to work to address the demand of those in need by raising money and stockpiling donations for the cause.
Here are some ways to support the efforts:
Bronx Fire Relief Drive
Local elected leaders are collecting donations for impacted families.
According to Mark Levine, a New York City council member, the prioritized items are gift cards, new and unworn clothing and outerwear, diapers, baby items, packaged foods, bottled water, hygiene products and toiletries.
Donations can be brought to any of these locations in the Bronx:
-Monroe College Ustin Hall at 2375 Jerome Avenue. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
-State Sen. Gustavo Rivera’s office at 2432 Grand Concourse, Suite 506. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
-Assembly member Yudelka Tapia’s office at 2175C Jerome Avenue. Monday and Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
-Council member Oswald Feliz’s office 573 East Fordham Road. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City
Mayor Eric Adams and the City of New York are raising money for those affected by the tragedy on the NYC government website.
“Your cash donation will enable the distribution of emergency relief supplies and provide support for the victims and their families,” the website states. “Your entire donation will go towards helping those impacted by the fire.”
Community organizers hold Bronx Fire Victims Drive
Necessities are also being collected by community leaders at the Bronx office of the NYC Department of Education.
The Bronx Community Foundation
The Bronx Community Foundation, a local philanthropic operation that focuses on economic and social justice community building in the borough, said it is joining efforts to serve those impacted and is accepting donations.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with our neighbors, families and friends impacted by today’s devastating fire in the Bronx,” the organization shared in a tweet. “As the needs of residents are shared with The Bronx Community Foundation, we will support wherever we can.”
(NEW YORK) — Robert Durst, a convicted murder who was awaiting trial on a separate murder charge, died of natural causes while in custody early Monday morning, his lawyer said.
Durst, 78, was sentenced to life in prison in October 2021 for the first-degree murder of his friend, Susan Berman, who was shot and killed in 2000 in her Los Angeles home.
Days after his sentencing, Durst was charged with the murder of his wife, Kathie Durst, who disappeared near their Westchester County, New York, home in 1982. Her body was never found.
Prosecutors allege Durst killed Susan Berman in 2000 because he feared his close friend would reveal details of Kathie Durst’s death.
The Westchester County District Attorney’s office said it plans to hold a news conference on the Kathie Durst case “in the coming days.”
“After 40 years spent seeking justice for her death, I know how upsetting this news must be for Kathleen Durst’s family,” Westchester County District Attorney Miriam Rocah said in a statement. “We had hoped to allow them the opportunity to see Mr. Durst finally face charges for Kathleen’s murder.”
Robert Abrams, an attorney for Kathie Durst’s family, said Monday that he’ll provide an update on Jan. 31, 2022 — the 40th anniversary of Kathie Durst’s disappearance.
Durst was also charged in the 2001 killing of his neighbor, Morris Black, in Galveston, Texas. Durst’s lawyers argued the real estate heir shot Black in self-defense and then dismembered Black’s body. Durst was acquitted.
Durst died of natural causes at 6:44 a.m. local time at an outside hospital, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said.
Durst’s lawyer, Chip Lewis, said in a statement Monday, “We understand that his death was due to natural causes associated with the litany of medical issues we had repeatedly reported to the court over the last couple of years.”
Durst was hospitalized in October 2021 with COVID-19. Durst’s attorney, Dick DeGuerin, said at the time that the real estate heir was on a ventilator.
In August 2021, during testimony in the Susan Berman trial, Durst detailed his health ailments, including esophageal and bladder cancers, chronic kidney disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD. He spoke with a raspy, weak voice, impacted by surgery for his esophageal cancer and COPD.
Robert Durst was the eldest son of wealthy New York City real estate investor and developer Seymour Durst. Robert Durst was long estranged from his family and his brother, Douglas Durst, is currently the chairman of the Durst Organization.
ABC News’ Aaron Katersky and Meredith Deliso contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — The coldest air of the season is moving into the Northeast on Monday night, sending temperatures plummeting by Tuesday morning.
The wind chill — what temperature it feels like — is forecast to plunge Tuesday morning to minus 5 degrees in New York, minus 14 degrees in Boston and minus 24 degrees in Burlington, Vermont.
In Boston, where the wind chill is expected to stay below zero all day long, public schools will be closed Tuesday.
By 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, the wind chill will only inch up to minus 3 degrees in Boston, 6 degrees in New York and 9 degrees in Philadelphia.
The Midwest and the South will also be feeling the freeze Tuesday morning. The wind chill is forecast to fall to minus 5 degrees in Chicago, minus 2 degrees in Detroit, minus 15 degrees in Green Bay, Wisconsin, 20 degrees in Nashville and 27 degrees in Atlanta.
But the brutal cold won’t last long — temperatures are expected to rebound by Wednesday.
(NEW YORK) — Seventeen people, including eight children, after dozens were injured in a fire at a Bronx apartment in New York City.
Officials previously reported that 19 people — including nine children — had died in the fire, but the death toll was revised Monday. The victims were taken to seven different hospitals, which led to the miscount, New York City Fire Department Commissioner Daniel Nigro said Monday.
More than 200 firefighters responded to the scene of the five-alarm fire that originated Sunday morning in a duplex apartment on the third floor of a high-rise building, located in the Tremont section of the Bronx, officials said. More than 60 people were injured in the fire, according to the New York City Fire Department.
Many of the victims were located on the upper floors and likely suffered from severe smoke inhalation, Nigro said during a press conference Sunday afternoon.
Firefighters arrived on the scene within three minutes of the initial 911 call and were met with fire in the hallways, Nigro said. A door that was left open allowed the fire and smoke to spread, Nigro added, describing the fire as “unprecedented.”
The fire never left the hallway on the floor where it originated, he said.
The 19-story building was built in 1972 and has 120 units, according to city records.
The fire began due to a malfunctioning electric space heater in a bedroom, the FDNY said Sunday evening. Smoke alarms were operable, and it remains under investigation how the smoke traveled so far so quickly.
Guillermo Sanchez, a resident who lives on the 16th floor, was making breakfast when he began to smell smoke, he told ABC News.
“My son went to the door,” he said. “We opened the door. Smoke comes in immediately, so we closed the door.”
The smoke was so intense, Sanchez said he assumed it was from another apartment on the same floor.
Sanchez, emotional from the ordeal, said he and his son called 911 but felt they could not safely take the stairs to exit the building, he said, adding that they were calling family members to tell them they may not make it.
The firefighter who initially knocked on his door said everything was under control, but another firefighter who came a half an hour later said, “You have to come with us,” Sanchez said.
“This is going to be one of the worst fires we have witnessed here in modern times in the city of New York,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams told reporters Sunday.
Adams praised the first responders, saying many of the firefighters’ oxygen tanks eventually became empty but “they still went through the smoke.”
Dramatic pictures posted to social media show fire gushing out of multiple windows in the building. FDNY began receiving calls from multiple residents on upper floors just before 11 a.m.
Additional details, including the conditions of the other victims, were not immediately available.
The residents consisted of a largely Muslim and Gambian population and will be aided by the city with particular consideration to cultural needs, Adams told ABC News.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul appeared at the news conference, saying that she spoke with a mother who lost her entire family in the fire, telling the victims, “We will not forget you. We will not abandon you.”
The Bronx Park Phase III Preservation LLC, the name of the joint venture that owns building at 333 E 181st St., said in a statement that it was “devastated” over the tragedy that occurred.
“We are devastated by the unimaginable loss of life caused by this profound tragedy,” the statement read. “We are cooperating fully with the Fire Department and other city agencies as they investigate its cause, and we are doing all we can to assist our residents. Our thoughts are with the families and friends of those who lost their lives or were injured, and we are here to support them as we recover from this horrific fire.”
A total of 73 people died in New York City fires in all of 2021.
This was the second major fire in the Bronx over the weekend. A four-alarm fire in the Fordham Heights section of the Bronx that began early Saturday morning injured a firefighter and displaced three families, ABC New York station WABC reported. A lithium-ion battery sparked the fire, officials said.
Last week, a fire that broke out on the second story of a row house in Philadelphia killed 13 people, including seven children.
(NEW YORK) — The man who bought Kyle Rittenhouse the AR-15-style rifle he used as a 17-year-old to shoot three people, two fatally, during a 2020 protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, pleaded no contest on Monday to contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Dominick Black’s attorney appeared in Kenosha County Circuit Court to finalize the plea bargain agreement that spares Black from being tried on felony charges stemming from the purchase of the gun. Black, 20, did not attend the hearing.
Black agreed to plead no contest to a non-criminal county ordinance citation of contributing to the delinquency of a minor stemming from his purchase of the semiautomatic weapon. Rittenhouse claimed he used the gun in self-defense when he fatally shot Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, and severely wounded Gaige Grosskreutz, 27.
A Kenosha County jury acquitted Rittenhouse in November of two felony counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, first-degree reckless homicide, first-degree intentional homicide and attempted first-degree intentional homicide.
Just hours before closing arguments in the high-profile case, Judge Bruce Schroeder threw out a misdemeanor charge against Rittenhouse of being a minor in possession of a dangerous weapon. Rittenhouse’s attorneys cited an exception in Wisconsin law that allows minors to possess shotguns and rifles as long as they’re not short-barreled.
“I do believe it is a serious offense to purchase a firearm for someone who is not legally able to do so. Our office will continue to vigorously prosecute those offenders,” prosecutor Thomas Binger said during Monday’s hearing. “And it is still our office’s position that 17-year-olds should not go armed with firearms.”
Binger credited Black for cooperating with police and prosecutors in the Rittenhouse case and testifying for the prosecution during the trial.
“He provided a statement early on, waived his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and testified at the trial truthfully. And I want to give him credit for those actions because those are responsible and appropriate actions to accept responsibility and to cooperate,” Binger said.
As part of the plea deal, Black agreed to pay a fine of $2,000, which Binger described as a “form of punishment and a deterrence” to anyone thinking of purchasing such as firearm for a minor.
Black’s attorney, Anthony Cotton, declined to make a statement at the hearing other than to say “this is our agreement.”
(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.4 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 837,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
About 62.5% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Jan 10, 6:37 am
UK launches campaign urging pregnant women to get vaccinated, boosted
The United Kingdom has launched a new advertising campaign that urges pregnant women who have not yet received a COVID-19 vaccine or booster shot to do so as soon as possible.
Testimonies of pregnant women who have had the shots will be played out in ads across U.K. radio stations and on social media starting Monday. The new campaign urges pregnant women “don’t wait to take the vaccine” and highlights the risks of COVID-19 to both mother and baby as well as the benefits of getting vaccinated, according to a press release from the U.K. Department of Health and Social Care.
The press release cited the latest data from the U.K. Health Security Agency that suggests COVID-19 vaccination is safe for pregnant women and provides strong protection against the virus for both mother and baby. The press release also cited data from the U.K. Obstetric Surveillance System that shows more than 96% of pregnant women hospitalized with COVID-19 symptoms between May and October 2021 were unvaccinated, and a third of them required respiratory support. Around one in five women who are hospitalized with COVID-19 need to be delivered preterm to help them recover, and one in five of their babies need care in the neonatal unit.
“Getting a COVID-19 vaccine is one of the most important things a pregnant woman can do this year to keep herself and her baby as safe from this virus as possible,” Lucy Chappell, chief scientific adviser to the U.K. Department of Health and Social Care, said in a statement Monday. “We have extensive evidence now to show that the vaccines are safe and that the risks posed by COVID-19 are far greater.”
Jan 10, 4:55 am
Spain reports more COVID-19 reinfections in 2 weeks than rest of pandemic
Spain has reported more COVID-19 reinfections in a recent span of two weeks than it has during the rest of the pandemic, according to the latest data from a Spanish public health research institute.
Data from the Carlos III Health Institute shows there were 20,890 repeat infections reported in Spain from Dec. 22, 2021, to Jan. 5, 2022. That figure tops the 17,140 reinfections reported in the European country from the start of the pandemic in March 2020 to Dec. 22, 2021. The data includes confirmed, probable and possible cases.
Alfredo Corell, an immunology professor at Spain’s University of Valladolid, told Spanish news site NIUS that the rising number of reinfections were due to the new and highly transmissible omicron variant.
“Prior to this variant, reinfections were anecdotal at the global level,” Corell told NIUS. “Omicron has changed this paradigm.”
In southern Africa, where the variant was first identified in November, preliminary research suggests that omicron is three times more likely to cause reinfections compared to other known variants of the virus, including the highly contagious delta. However, symptoms of reinfected individuals appear to be mild, according to Anne von Gottberg, a microbiologist at South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases who is studying omicron.
“Previous infection used to protect against Delta,” von Gottberg said during a press briefing on Dec. 2. “But now, with Omicron, that doesn’t seem to be the case.”
Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — The Biden administration’s plan to send 500 million at-home tests to Americans for free is an historic undertaking, but one that will take weeks or months to fully execute, recently released contracts and interviews with seven test manufacturers suggest.
Contracts for the first two batches of tests were announced on Friday, one for 13.3 million kits from a health technology company and another for an undisclosed amount from a distribution company in Virginia that had extras on hand — all to be distributed in an effort to reduce the massive testing shortage in the U.S.
And while a White House official told ABC News that the rest of the contracts to fulfill the 500-million pledge are expected to be awarded in the next two weeks, the cumbersome process of ramping up test availability indicates that the plan won’t deliver a quick fix.
Tests won’t be available to be ordered through a government website until later this month, the official said, meaning it’s unlikely the average American will get free tests delivered in time for the January peak of omicron cases predicted by most models.
In the last week alone, the U.S. has reported more than 4.1 million new COVID-19 cases — the highest number of cases seen over the span of a week on record.
And as cases soar, tests have become increasingly vital for basic day-to-day needs, including keeping kids in school and employees in the workforce.
ABC News reached out to all 13 testing companies that have an FDA authorization for at-home test kits. In interviews with seven, including five of the largest producers, the testing companies said they were each producing anywhere from a few million to 200 million tests per month.
But that total supply is intended for all customers, including pharmacies and grocery stores, not solely for the government.
Dr. Michael Mina, chief science officer for eMed, a health care technology company that proctors at-home rapid tests, said he expects to see around 100 to 200 million tests distributed in the month after the website launches, an estimate he made based on conversations with test manufacturers.
Tests are then expected to ramp up in February after two newly authorized rapid tests hit the market, which could contribute tens of millions of tests to the government’s supply. But it will take longer than just a month for testing companies to produce the half a billion tests promised by the government.
For experts focused on the near future, that’s a concern.
“We need the testing yesterday, we need those tests available,” Dr. Gerald Harmon, president of the American Medical Association, said in an interview with ABC News. “And that’s going to be incredibly important for us to overcome the spread and mitigate the spread of this virus.”
One of the leading producers, iHealth, plans to distribute 200 million tests this month to buyers like state governments and Amazon, the company’s chief operating officer, Jack Feng, told ABC News.
Feng said iHealth could increase its supply to work with the federal government, contributing 50 million in the next three weeks and an additional 150 million tests in February.
But Feng says manufacturing the tests isn’t the major issue for iHealth — it’s getting them into the country from China, where they’re made.
Abbott, one of the first major testing companies to produce an at-home rapid test, has invested in new plants and automation to further increase its supply, which is one of the biggest sources of U.S. tests, a spokesperson said.
“We’re running 24/7 to make 70 million tests per month with plans to surpass that,” said John Koval, a spokesperson for Abbott.
The two newest tests on the scene, from Roche and Siemens Healthineers, could give an extra boost if the companies are awarded contracts from the government. Both companies said they will be able to deliver “tens of millions” of tests per month, once they become available.
But for Roche, initial deliveries won’t begin arriving until “late January with capacity ramping up to full output throughout February and March,” a spokesperson said. Siemens told ABC News they anticipate a first supply of tests will be also available sometime in January.
Quidel, another large manufacturer, said it recently opened a manufacturing facility in California and is shipping “millions of QuickVue tests.”
And two smaller companies, Becton Dickenson and Ellume, will contribute 20 million between the two of them.
Taken altogether, the testing companies alone are unlikely to hit 500 million within a month.
Fast action requires manufacturing capabilities that the U.S. wasn’t prepared for, in part because of the unpredictability of the virus but also due to the country’s vaccine-focused approach over the past year, which drove down demand for tests and left the country with fewer tests when it needed them most.
“It is important for the U.S. to maintain the testing manufacturing capacity and supply during periods of low demand so we can respond to future variants and surges,” Koval, with Abbott, said.
“We’re on the right path now, but we can’t be complacent or think that testing won’t play a critical role in our ability to gather safely,” he said.
Unlike PCR tests, which are able to detect even small amounts of virus and can stay positive for up to three months after an infection, rapid tests are helpful for a person to know if they are likely to be contagious in that moment.
Increased access to rapid tests means Americans will be able to follow the advice of experts who say you should use rapid tests frequently, ideally a few times a week, to detect when someone becomes contagious to others.
For its part, the White House did not pledge to deliver all 500 million tests in January, but to just begin sending them then. Officials have not provided a concrete timeline on when the full amount of tests will be delivered to Americans.
It’s also not clear how many tests would be distributed to each American, though the White House has said people will request them through a website that will launch when enough tests have been acquired.
But the administration remains confident in the plan, maintaining that they are making significant progress and will deliver on the extra 500 million tests without dipping into the supply on pharmacy shelves.
“We expect to have all 500 million [tests] contracted over the next two weeks, and Americans will be able to begin ordering these tests online later this month,” a White House official told ABC News.
“We are ensuring that the tests contracted arrive as quickly as they are manufactured by the companies, and then immediately made available to the American people,” the official said.
The official said the first tests from the initial contracts awarded will be delivered to the government next week, then be distributed to Americans once the website launches.
“Securing half a billion tests will require agreements with multiple manufacturers and distributors, and the Biden administration continues to be an active partner to help accelerate production and distribution of at-home tests at large, including investing billions and using the Defense Production Act,” the official said.
A distribution plan is also in final stages between the White House and the U.S. Post Office, according to a source who was briefed on the plan last week.
In the meantime, Americans can buy tests where they can find them, though supply is spotty in many parts of the country. Beginning next week those tests will be reimbursable through health insurance, the White House said last week.
“Obviously this is an unprecedented action, to have a half a billion tests bought by the U.S. government and distributed for free,” White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients told reporters on Tuesday. “And we’ll continue to do more and more to increase access to testing.”
