New Initiative: Order Free COVID-19 Tests by Mail, Government Announces

New Initiative Order Free COVID-19 Tests by Mail, Government Announces
Image By: Reuters

Beginning in late September, Americans will be eligible to receive free viral test kits addressed to their homes in response to a summer spike of COVID-19 cases.

When the federal program reopens, households in the United States will be able to obtain up to four COVID-19 nasal swab tests, according to the COVIDtests.gov website.

An precise start date for ordering has not been disclosed by the U.S. Health and Human Services agency in charge of the testing.

An email statement from an HHS spokeswoman stated that the tests can be ordered in advance of the Christmas season, when family and friends get together for celebrations, and they will identify the most recent strains of the virus. As of last year, COVID-19 at-home tests that are available over-the-counter usually cost about $11.

Ahead of the fall and winter respiratory virus season, the government is once again advising people to receive an updated COVID-19 booster at the same time as the announcement.

The new COVID-19 vaccine was approved by US regulators earlier this week. It is intended to fight off the latest viral strains as well as, ideally, the ones that will emerge this winter.

The vaccination rate is declining, though. Although statistics indicates that less than 25% of American adults had the COVID-19 vaccination last fall, the majority of people have some immunity from previous illnesses or vaccines.

1.8 billion COVID-19 tests have been distributed by the Biden administration, with half going to households via mail. How many tests the government have on hand is unknown.

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COVID-19 tests, vaccines, and therapies have been developed with the help of tens of billions of government funds.

Since COVID-19 began to spread in the United States in 2020, there has been a significant decline in deaths and major infections; however, in recent weeks, hospitalizations have begun to slightly increase. The virus has killed over a million Americans in total.

Reference

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