Federal government no longer accepting orders for free Covid-19 tests
Originally Published: 10 MAR 25 15:32 ET
By Jen Christensen, CNN
(CNN) — The federal government program that provides free at-home Covid-19 tests says it is “not currently accepting orders,” according to the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response website.
It’s not clear whether the program has shut down permanently. The US Department of Health and Human Services has not responded to CNN’s questions about why the program is no longer taking orders.
The testing website says orders placed before 8 p.m. ET Sunday, March 9, will still be shipped. Home tests are also sold at grocery stores and pharmacies.
Ordering on Covidtests.gov has been suspended off and on since it started in the winter of 2021. Last year, the Biden administration stopped the program as virus numbers fell in the spring but restarted it last fall ahead of the respiratory virus season.
The coronavirus is still making people sick in the United States, but the number of cases has been falling.
As of March 1, the number of people testing positive for Covid is down slightly from the week before, with nearly 4% of those who take a test showing up as positive, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hospitalizations and deaths are also down slightly from the week before, according to the CDC.
The US Food and Drug Administration recommends that people who have Covid-like symptoms test repeatedly to determine whether they have the virus. Prices for tests can range from $10 to $35 each. Some insurance plans may cover the tests, and local health programs sometimes offer free tests.
Last March, ASPR said it had delivered over 1.8 billion free Covid-19 tests through its Covidtests.gov website.
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