Free Covid-19 tests are available again. Here’s how to get them

By CNN Newsource

Published September 26, 2024 10:38 AM

By Deidre McPhillips, CNN

(CNN) — People in the United States can now order more free Covid-19 tests from the federal government as the country heads into respiratory virus season with high levels of the coronavirus already circulating.

Each household is eligible to receive four at-home test kits, which can be requested from COVIDTests.gov starting today. They’ll be shipped for free starting next week through the US Postal Service.

This is the program’s seventh round of distribution, which has delivered more than 900 million free tests directly to US residents since it started in the winter of 2021, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services.

The rapid antigen tests take about 30 minutes to give results. This next set of tests will be able to detect currently circulating variants and can be used for testing in people who have Covid-19 symptoms and those who don’t, as well as in those who are up-to-date on their Covid-19 vaccination and those who aren’t.

“Reopening this popular program is the latest step by the Biden-Harris Administration to ensure that over-the-counter COVID-19 tests are available to all who want them this fall and winter,” HHS Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Dawn O’Connell said in a statement. “Before you visit with your family and friends this holiday season, take a quick test and help keep them safe from COVID-19.”

The available tests also include an option with features that make it more accessible for people with disabilities affecting dexterity or vision to use. More information about ordering these tests is available at ACL.gov/AccessibleTests.

“COVID-19 testing can help you know if you have COVID-19 so you can decide what to do next, like getting treatment to reduce your risk of severe illness and taking steps to lower your chances of spreading the virus to others,” according to the HHS Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response.

To reduce the spread of Covid-19, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people who test positive stay home and away from others until they are fever-free for at least 24 hours.

The US Food and Drug Administration recommends that people take multiple rapid tests to ensure they do not have Covid-19: two negative tests for those with symptoms and three for those without symptoms, performed 48 hours apart.

The CDC also recommends that everyone age 6 months or older receive an updated Covid-19 vaccine this season to stay up to date.

This year, there are multiple options available; mRNA vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer were updated to target KP.2, one of the so-called FLiRT variants that have been dominant in the US since May. Those vaccines are for people 6 months and older. A more traditional protein vaccine from Novavax is also available, but it targets JN.1, a variant that is still circulating but less prominently than a few months ago. The Novavax vaccine is approved only for those ages 12 and up.

The updated Covid-19 vaccines are available now at pharmacies across the US and can be received at the same time as the annual flu vaccine.

“The best plan going into this winter is for everyone to remain vigilant, to use the tools we have: vaccines, testing, treatment against the illnesses responsible for the majority of fall and winter deaths and hospitalizations,” CDC Director Dr. Mandy Cohen said last week.

CNN’s Brenda Goodman contributed to this report.