In anticipation of a potential surge in COVID-19 cases this winter, the Biden administration has announced the relaunch of its free-at-home COVID testing program. To optimize convenience, Americans can now order four free COVID tests directly to their homes by visiting a government website. Each household is eligible for up to four tests, which can be used until the end of 2023.
The United States Postal Service (USPS) will deliver these tests free of charge, starting the week of October 2nd. These tests are designed to detect the current circulating COVID-19 variants, as confirmed by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Although some test kits may display “expired” dates on the packaging, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has extended these dates. Additional information about the specific tests and their extended expiration dates can be found on the FDA’s website. Instructions for verifying the extended expiration dates will be provided with the test kits, according to HHS.
The duration of availability for these tests has not been specified yet. However, Dawn O’Connell, assistant secretary for preparedness and response at HHS, stated that the website will be open for orders throughout the holiday season, and it may remain open even longer if there is a surge in COVID-19 cases, as reported by The Associated Press.
This relaunch marks the fifth round of free COVID-19 tests distributed to households across the nation, with a total distribution of over 755 million tests since the program’s inception. The program was temporarily suspended in May to preserve the existing supply, but Health Secretary Xavier Becerra has confirmed that the stockpile has been replenished.
In addition to the relaunched program, the White House plans to allocate $600 million to acquire 200 million new tests from 12 domestic test manufacturers.
The decision to relaunch the program stems from the recent increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations since July, although the rates are still significantly lower than during the peak of the pandemic.
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