More than 50 million free COVID tests delivered to American households

(CNN) - More than 50 million households have received their free at-home COVID-19 tests from the federal government.

The White House COVID-19 response team’s senior adviser, Dr. Tom Inglesby, said Wednesday that represents more than 80% of the initial orders.

The Biden administration announced in December it bought 500 million at-home COVID-19 tests to be mailed to Americans.

The government launched a website to sign up for the free tests in January.

Given an expected drop in demand as omicron goes down, Inglesby said the administration is asking the testing industry for ideas on how to sustain and expand the market going forward.

He says tests will be needed to interrupt coronavirus spread long-term, since they allow people to get a quick diagnosis, access treatment and protect more vulnerable people.