HHS, which has not yet announced an exact date for the orders to begin, is resuming the program at a time of year when COVID-19 cases and other respiratory illnesses are expected to rise.
COVID-19 home test kits will be available free of charge
Starting in late September, the federal government will ship free COVID-19 home tests through COVIDTests.gov.
Soon, Americans will be able to order free COVID-19 test kits from the government and have them delivered to their homes.
The program, offered by the U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS), will offer up to four nasal swab tests per U.S. household once it opens on COVIDTests.gov.
HHS is resuming the program at a time of year when annual increases in COVID-19 cases and other respiratory illnesses are expected. The tests detect current strains of the virus and will be available by the end of the year.
As of Monday, the agency had not announced an exact date when the program would start. The website says the tests can be ordered starting in late September.
Here’s what you need to know about free COVID-19 testing.
How to order free COVID-19 tests
To order the tests, visit COVIDtest.gov. Once ordered, home tests will be delivered to your home free of charge.
Each household can receive up to four free tests.
When can free COVID tests be ordered?
An agency spokesperson did not provide a start date for the program to USA TODAY on Monday. The website says the tests will be available to order starting in late September.
What do the tests detect?
According to the CDC, the tests can detect the dominant variants in circulation.
The home tests typically provide results in 30 minutes or less and can be used on both vaccinated and unvaccinated people. Many COVID-19 tests now have a longer expiration date.
While positive results are accurate, the HHS warns that negative results do not necessarily rule out COVID-19 infection. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommends two negative antigen tests for people with symptoms or three antigen tests for people without symptoms, each taken 48 hours apart.
CDC recommends updated COVID-19 vaccine
The program will begin at a time when COVID-19 is expected to reach its winter peak along with influenza and respiratory virus (RSV).
According to the latest projections from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the COVID-19 variant KP.3.1.1 is responsible for more than half of all positive infections in the United States since this month.
Previous infection or vaccination may give people some level of immunity or protection, but it does not last forever. The CDC recommends that everyone age 6 months and older receive a current COVID-19 vaccine, regardless of whether they have been previously vaccinated.
Contributor: Ahjané Forbes, USA TODAY
