The federal government has made it possible for every home in the country to order four at-home COVID-19 testing kits — free of charge.
Now, that process is underway across the U.S.
Up and running early to test its online efficiency, those interested in their four free kits can already take to covidtests.gov for the rapid antigen units, which: can be taken anywhere, give a result within 30 minutes with no lab drop-off required, are effective whether someone has COVID-19 symptoms or not, are effective despite vaccination status, and are reportedly more accurate than self-tests or over-the-counter tests.
These tests can be ordered now prior to observing symptoms, but CDC guidelines suggest using the tests if one begins to experience COVID-19 concerns such as a fever, a sore throat, a runny nose, a loss of taste or smell, or in the last five days has come into close contact with a COVID-19 positive individual or large group.
A positive at-home test likely means the presence of the virus, while a negative test should be followed with a second negative test at least 24 hours later to confirm its absence.
While retailers and pharmacies have at-home tests available for sale across the country, many have had difficulties keeping them in stock. Certain health insurance plans will pay qualifiers back for up to eight at-home tests per month for each person on the plan, and more than 20,000 free testing sites are available nationwide.
Covidtests.gov has information about this insurance, as well as a locator for testing locations.
The testing kits are delivered through a partnership with the United States Postal Service.
