Free COVID tests from government available again
The Biden administration has reopened its at-home testing program, allowing Americans to order four free COVID-19 tests from the government. This relaunch is significant as COVID hospitalizations have been on the rise, surpassing 20,000 for the first time since March. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2.7% of all deaths in the U.S. during the week of September 10-16 were attributed to COVID-19, marking a 12.5% increase from the previous week.
Following the expiration of the public health emergency in May, many insurance companies ceased covering the cost of COVID tests. The government's program had been unavailable since June 1. However, the Biden administration, in partnership with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), has previously provided over 755 million at-home tests.
To order the free tests, households can visit COVIDTests.gov or call the government hotline at 1-800-232-0233 or TTY 1-888-720-7489. The tests are available at no cost and will be shipped for free, with shipping expected to commence during the week of October 2, as per USPS. It is worth noting that the tests being distributed can detect the currently circulating COVID-19 variants and are intended for use until the end of 2023