US to Offer More Free COVID Tests Across the Country

(CTN News) – A U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) representative announced on Monday that the government will begin accepting orders for a new round of free COVID tests to be sent nationwide.

You can get four extra free tests through COVIDTests.gov if your household had ordered four during the September promotion, or you can place two orders for eight tests if your household did not.

Public transportation and indoor gatherings are known to spread diseases, so the government is making testing available before the US holiday season, which begins with Thanksgiving on November 23 and ends with New Year’s celebrations.

Weekly CoronavirusAccording to the most recent data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of hospital admissions increased to over 16,000 on November 11. This is down from almost 24,000 at the same time last year, but up from nearly 15,000 the week before.

In August of that year, the popular free test program—which began accepting orders in January of 2022—was canceled by President Joe Biden’s administration, which cited a lack of congressional financing. It began a new round of orders on September 25th of this year, and it commenced offering the tests in December 2022 due to a surge in instances.

According to the HHS spokeswoman, the COVID-19 extra funds from the American Rescue Plan are being used to pay for the testing.

A representative from the Biden administration stated that approximately 1.6 billion free tests have been distributed so far. This number includes tests sent directly to individuals’ homes through the website and millions sent weekly to institutions such as schools, community health centers, food banks, and long-term care facilities.

In the upcoming weeks, the Department of Education and the Department of Health intend to broaden a program that administers exams to schools around the country.

USPS COVID test kits

At least one issue has been brought to the attention of users via several Twitter accounts: copies of orders placed by residents of the same building but in separate units are being denied. Anyone residing in the United States can place an order for a maximum of four kits. After an order is placed, a sample will be sent out to you in a week or two.

Some Twitter users have found success by entering their apartment number instead of a street address.

There is no cost to order the free tests; in contrast to the insurance reimbursement program, there is no need to have a credit card. The requirement to provide receipts for complimentary tests is a major factor in this.

A record number of infections last month prompted the Biden administration to acquire about 500 million tests.

The free COVID test website is the engine that drives online government traffic.

The early debut of the test ordering website accounted for nearly half of all government website traffic on Tuesday, according to analytics.usa.gov.

As of Tuesday at 3 p.m., the analytics website showed that COVIDtests.gov had approximately 9 million page visits in the past seven days.

Ways to discover HIV testing

If you are looking for an at-home test, you might find it difficult to locate one right now.

Finding testing kits in stores and online can be done with the correct equipment, perseverance, and occasionally luck, even though shortages persist.

People who are trying to track down the elusive PlayStation 5 and Xbox One S X are employing a similar strategy: Keeping up with Twitter accounts that let you know when the test is available again.

Consumers can use websites and apps to be notified when new tests become available.

After seeing how difficult it was to get at-home exams, 14-year-old Eli Coustan of Evanston, Illinois, launched his website Findacovidtest.org at the end of December.

At least one issue has been brought to users’ attention via several Twitter accounts: copies of orders placed by residents of the same building but in separate units are being denied. Anyone residing in the United States can order a maximum of four kits. After placing an order, a sample will be sent to you in a week or two.

Some Twitter users have found success by entering their apartment number instead of a street address.

There is no cost to order the free tests; in contrast to the insurance reimbursement program, there is no need to have a credit card. The requirement to provide receipts for complimentary tests is a major factor in this.

A record number of infections last month prompted the Biden administration to acquire about 500 million tests.

The free COVID test website drives online government traffic

The early debut of the test ordering website accounted for nearly half of all government website traffic on Tuesday, according to analytics.usa.gov.

As of Tuesday at 3 p.m., the analytics website showed that COVIDtests.gov had approximately 9 million page visits in the past seven days.

How to find at-home COVID tests

If you are looking for an at-home test, you might find it difficult to locate one right now.

Finding testing kits in stores and online can be done with the correct equipment, perseverance, and occasionally luck, even though shortages persist.

People who are trying to track down the elusive PlayStation 5 and Xbox One S X are employing a similar strategy: Keeping up with Twitter accounts that let you know when the test is available again.

There are websites and apps that consumers can use to be notified when new tests become available.

After seeing how difficult it was to get at-home exams, 14-year-old Eli Coustan of Evanston, Illinois, launched his website Findacovidtest.org at the end of December.