The Biden administration is relaunching a program that allows Americans to order free COVID-19 tests through the mail. The move comes as the country prepares for a potential surge of infections during the winter season. To facilitate the ordering process, the website Covidtests.gov will be relaunched for new orders starting on Monday. Each household will be able to order up to four tests, which are intended for use until the end of the year. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) assures that the tests will come with clear instructions on how to verify extended expiration dates.
In addition to the relaunch of Covidtests.gov, the White House is investing $600 million to purchase 200 million new tests from domestic test manufacturers. This investment aims to increase the availability of tests in the future and better prepare the nation for potential future coronavirus surges and other pandemic threats.
HHS Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, Dawn O’Connell, emphasized that this investment will not only increase the availability of tests in the future but also help the country prepare for potential future surges and pandemic threats. According to HHS, over 755 million free COVID-19 tests have been shipped to individuals who requested them through Covidtests.gov. However, it has become increasingly difficult to find free tests recently. The program was temporarily suspended in May to preserve the existing supply, but Health Secretary Xavier Becerra confirmed on Wednesday that the stockpile has been replenished.
It should be noted that private insurers were previously required to cover up to eight at-home tests per month. However, this requirement ended when the Biden administration allowed the public health emergency to expire in May. Additionally, the program that allowed Medicare coverage and payment for over-the-counter COVID-19 tests also came to an end with the expiration of the emergency.
While COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations have been increasing in the United States since July, the numbers are still significantly lower than during the peak times of the pandemic.
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