Thursday, March 28, 2024

Feds offering second set of free at-home Covid-19 tests

In January the federal government gave away four free Covid-19 tests to every American household that wanted them. Tuesday, a second batch of tests became accessible on the federal website for free.

The rapid antigen tests, approved by the FDA, provide results within half an hour. They are shipped through the United States Postal System and the government said tests should arrive within 12 days after being placed at Covidtests.gov.

Orders require first and last name, mailing address and optional email for those who wish to receive confirmation electronically, with a tracking number. Households that missed ordering the first round of free tests can still place one for all eight online or by calling 1-800-232-0233.

Free tests became available in mid-January as Covid-19 cases skyrocketed from the omicron surge, and tests were in short supply on retail shelves and at pharmacies. The Biden administration announced in December, as case counts began inching up, it would purchase half a billion tests to ship to homes to help ease the strain.


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Shea Carver
Shea Carver
Shea Carver is the editor in chief at Port City Daily. A UNCW alumna, Shea worked in the print media business in Wilmington for 22 years before joining the PCD team in October 2020. She specializes in arts coverage — music, film, literature, theatre — the dining scene, and can often be tapped on where to go, what to do and who to see in Wilmington. When she isn’t hanging with her pup, Shadow Wolf, tending the garden or spinning vinyl, she’s attending concerts and live theater.

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