Today, February 25, the federal government restarted its program that distributes free at-home COVID-19 tests to American households.
Each household can get one order, which consists of four tests, for absolutely free. There’s no cost for the tests or for the shipping.
Those who want to place an order can do so by visiting this test kits page on the on the USPS website. Simply fill in a name and address. If you want shipping notifications, you can also add your email address.
According to USPS, the test will started shipping out during the week of October 2.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced this round of free tests last week along with the news that the federal government was investing $600 million to bolster production among 12 domestic test manufacturers to strengthen the domestic supply chain and promote public access to tests. According to the HHS, the federal government is expecting to get about 200 million new over-the-counter COVID-19 tests for future federal government use.
Free lab tests
The government is also still offering free on-site COVID-19 testing at thousands of locations for people who do not have health insurance but are symptomatic or who were exposed. This is done through the ICATT program, formally called Increasing Community Access to Testing.
The types of COVID-19 tests offered vary by location and provider but include laboratory-based nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) and rapid point-of-care (POC) testing, the CDC’s website states.
The CDC provides the ability to search for ICATT testing locations near you on this page.
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