Americans will soon have the opportunity to order another round of free COVID-19 tests from the U.S. government, as announced by the U.S. Health Department’s Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR). While the exact date for when these tests will be available hasn’t been specified, the agency mentioned that they will be accessible “soon” at the end of September.
Each U.S. household is eligible to order up to four free COVID tests through COVIDTests.gov or the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) website. Since the program’s launch in January 2022, it has successfully distributed over 900 million tests to the public. The tests are designed to detect all current COVID variants and will remain usable until the end of 2024, which is especially relevant as COVID continues to circulate at high levels in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The announcement comes at a time when a new variant, dubbed XEC, is spreading in Europe and has also been detected in the U.S. Although it hasn’t yet been included in the CDC’s variant surveillance data, experts believe it could spread more easily and might become the dominant variant in the U.S. in the coming months.
Households will be able to place their orders for the free tests starting at the end of September. The ordering functionality on the COVIDTests.gov website is currently closed, but ASPR suggests it will reopen shortly. In addition to this, the USPS will also allow ordering for “standard and more accessible COVID-19 tests” while supplies last.
To order the tests, individuals must provide a valid U.S. address, and the packages typically ship within seven to twelve days. Additionally, individuals can contact HRSA health centers, Test to Treat sites, or ICATT locations for more information on low- or no-cost COVID tests.
The free tests offered by the government are FDA-authorized at-home diagnostic tests that generally deliver results in 30 minutes or less. These rapid tests often require a swab of one or both nostrils. The CDC recommends that users read the package inserts thoroughly and follow the instructions carefully. While positive results from at-home tests are reliable, a negative result cannot completely rule out an infection; hence, the CDC suggests taking two to three negative tests to confirm a COVID-free status.
Reporting test results—whether positive or negative—can be beneficial in tracking the virus’s spread across the U.S. The ASPR encourages people to report their test outcomes to public health agencies via MakeMyTestCount.org.
