Four free COVID home tests per household now available from federal government
Consumers can once again get four free coronavirus home tests per household through the government-run website CovidTests.gov.
The Biden administration reopened the free test program, which began Monday, Sept. 25, as the Department of Health and Human Services announced it will award $600 million to a dozen domestic coronavirus test manufacturers to shore up the government's supply of home tests.
The investment will deliver about 200 million new over-the-counter coronavirus tests, officials said.
During four previous rounds, HHS secured and the Postal Service delivered more than 755 million tests free to households. The program ended at the conclusion of the COVID-19 public health emergency earlier this year. The federal government has continued to ship tests to nursing homes, low-income senior housing, the uninsured and underserved communities, officials said.
CLICK HERE: To sign up for four free home test kits
HHS' Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response announced the contracts will range from $167 million to iHealth in California to $4.5 million to Advin in California. The a dozen test manufacturers employ hundreds of workers in seven states, officials said.
“The Biden-Harris Administration, in partnership with domestic manufacturers, has made great strides in addressing vulnerabilities in the U.S. supply chain by reducing our reliance on overseas manufacturing,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “These critical investments will strengthen our nation’s production levels of domestic at-home COVID-19 rapid tests and help mitigate the spread of the virus.”HHS officials said the tests will detect the COVID-19 variants now circulating and can be used through the end of 2023.
Consumers who order a new test will get a warning that the free tests might show expired dates on the box. The Food and Drug Administration extended expiration dates for home coronavirus tests.
➤Covid news: Latest stories on the COVID-19 virus, boosters, tests and more
The Biden administration launched CovidTests in early 2022 as long lines and home test shortages made it difficult for Americans to get checked for the contagious omicron variant, then the dominant strain. The federal government initially purchased 500 million home tests to be mailed to households so people could test themselves at home without a lab.
COVID-19 infections have been rising since early July, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows. Hospitalizations are up 7.7% as of Sept. 9 and deaths 12.5% as of Sept. 16, but totals remain far below previous peaks.
The share of positive coronavirus tests climbed from about 4% in early June to 12.5% as of Sept. 16. The CDC testing data typically doesn't include home coronavirus tests unless someone visits a doctor who orders a test through a lab.
COVID-19: Summer surge hit Florida, but there was a silver lining
Palm Beach County and Florida saw a late-summer surge
Palm Beach County and Florida saw a COVID-19 surge in August and September, the worst surge since last winter.
But far fewer people become severely ill compared with past waves even as some data indicated the virus was at least as widespread as it was last summer.
About 23% of tests countywide in the week ending Sept. 1 came back positive, the latest Florida Department of Health COVID report showed. That’s two to three points higher than the peak positivity rate during summer 2022.
COVID in Palm Beach County was less widespread than during the worst of summer 2022, north county sewage indicated. Each milliliter of wastewater from the Jupiter-area Loxahatchee River District had 412.5 coronavirus particles, testing conducted Sept. 4 showed. That’s less than half as much as this past winter and about 76%-89% less than the summer 2022 peak. Boston-based Biobot Analytics laboratory tested those samples.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: COVID tests: Sign up for four free tests from federal government
