Last month, we reported that on Dec. 21, President Biden laid out plans to expand COVID-19 testing sites across the U.S., deliver a half-billion free at-home tests, and deploy additional federal health resources to assist overwhelmed hospitals due to the spread of the Omicron variant.
On Jan. 18, the federal government launched its website for free rapid COVID-19 tests that will be shipped to Americans’ homes.
The website states that “Every home in the U.S. is eligible to order four free at-home COVID-19 tests. The tests are completely free. Orders will usually ship in seven to 12 days.”
Moreover, “The tests available for order:
- Are rapid antigen at-home tests, not PCR
- Can be taken anywhere
- Give results within 30 minutes (no lab drop-off required)
- Work whether or not you have COVID-19 symptoms
- Work whether or not you are up to date on your COVID-19 vaccines
- Are also referred to as self-tests or over-the-counter (OTC) tests”
The limit per residential address is one order (four individual rapid antigen at-home tests) and orders will ship for free beginning later this month.
According to a Jan. 18 article from CNN by Kaitlan Collins, Maegan Vazquez, and Tami Luhby, most readers of the news outlet reported that the website was straightforward and that it didn’t take much time to complete their orders.
“Others, however, flagged that they ran into problems,” the authors continue. “Several readers said that when they tried to use the site, they were told that tests were already ordered for their address so their request could not be completed. Some live in apartment buildings, but others said they are in private residences and no one else in the household had used the site.”
Further, “In addition to the website, the federal government is setting up a hotline to request the tests. It is currently being piloted and additional details will be available at the end of week, the White House said Tuesday.”
