The US government has rolled out a new website for people to order free at-home COVID-19 tests.
Tests have been sold out across the nation as cases of omicron surged.
The website to order them, COVIDTests.gov, went live on Tuesday — ahead of the planned official rollout on Wednesday.
After users go to the new domain, they are redirected to a page on the U.S. Postal Service website where they can submit their order.
The tests are limited to four per household and will take seven to 12 days to ship out.
“Every home in the U.S. is eligible to order 4 free at-home COVID-19 tests. The tests are completely free. Orders will usually ship in 7-12 days,” the website states. “Order your tests now so you have them when you need them.”
For those who need more than four tests, the website suggests purchasing them through pharmacies and “other retailers,” ignoring that they have been sold out nearly everywhere for weeks.
The tests are rapid antigen at-home tests, not PCR, and can be taken anywhere. The website states that results will be available in about 30 minutes.
The USPS website states that “orders will ship free starting in late January.”
The Hill reports, “the new government website is currently distributing an order of 500 million rapid tests that the Biden administration placed, and last week the White House announced that it is placing an additional order of 500 million rapid tests for future use.”
“Still, some Democrats are calling for far greater test availability, including a measure in Congress to produce and distribute enough tests so every American can test twice a week,” the report continues. “The White House argues its testing actions have been a ‘building process’ over time. It points to a previous $3 billion investment in rapid testing, and an increase in supply from 24 million tests in August to more than 300 million in December.”
Free antigen and PCR COVID-19 tests are available to everyone in the U.S., including the uninsured, at more than 20,000 sites nationwide. You can find a location near you here.
