Three weeks after Thanksgiving, COVID-19 cases are rising in the United States. During a press conference on December 15, White House COVID-19 coordinator Ashish Jha told reporters, “we are seeing cases increase in about 90% of the country.”
In December 2021, the federal government purchased over 500 million rapid COVID-19 self-tests to help Americans combat the spread of the virus during the omicron outbreak. For nearly a year, people were able to request tests online, and they were shipped for free to their homes. But that program was suspended on September 2, 2022.
On December 15, the Biden administration announced its plan to prepare for possible COVID-19 outbreaks during the upcoming winter months. These plans include making free rapid COVID-19 self-tests available to Americans once again for a limited time.
All families in the U.S. can request online a set of four COVID-19 self-tests, which will be sent for free to their address. The website to make the request is: COVIDTests.gov.
To request the free tests, all you need to do is enter your name and a residential address. Shipping begins the week of December 19 and will continue in the following weeks.
In addition to this program, there are over 15,000 locations to get tested for free across the country. The federal government is also distributing free self-tests in schools, nursing homes, community health centers, rural health clinics, and food banks to ensure that communities have ample access to testing this winter.
If you need help requesting the free COVID-19 tests, call 1-800-232-0233 (TTY 1-888-720-7489).
You may be reimbursed by your health plan for tests purchased at pharmacies
Since January 15, most people with health insurance can go to a pharmacy to obtain a COVID-19 self-test authorized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) at no cost, either through reimbursement or even for free through insurance. This applies to health plans purchased independently or obtained through work.
The test will be free if your health plan offers direct coverage; otherwise, you will have to pay and will be reimbursed. Be sure to keep your receipt if you need to submit a reimbursement request to your plan. Insurers are required to reimburse you at a rate of up to $12 per individual test (or the cost of the test if it is less than $12).
Is the self-test reliable?
The self-test has become an essential tool to reduce the spread of the virus.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is advising people to conduct repeated testing, also known as serial testing, after a negative result on any at-home COVID-19 antigen test, to reduce the risk of an infection going unnoticed (false negative result) and to help prevent people from unknowingly spreading the SARS-CoV-2 virus to others. The FDA recommends retesting after a negative result, regardless of whether you have COVID-19 symptoms.
Most at-home COVID-19 tests are antigen tests (the protein that coats the virus) and do not detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus itself, like molecular tests, most of which are done in a lab (the already famous “PCR”). Generally, molecular COVID-19 tests are expected to detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus at least 95% of the time when someone is infected. However, at-home COVID-19 antigen tests are expected to detect the protein that coats the surface of the SARS-CoV-2 virus at least 80% of the time when someone is infected.
Both tests detect an active infection and are reliable. The main difference is that while antigen tests provide an immediate result, they are not as accurate as a PCR test, especially in the early stages of COVID-19. This test has a higher rate of producing “false negatives.” This is because they may have lower sensitivity, meaning they can miss some infections and may require multiple tests to ensure that the virus is not present.
So, to avoid ruining your year-end plans and putting the health of your family and friends at risk, make use of the free self-tests you are entitled to.
Source: CNN and FDA