How to order your kits

Americans will soon be able to order another round of free COVID-19 tests from the U.S. government, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) announced Monday.

The agency did not give an exact date when the COVID tests would be available, but said the tests would be available “soon” by “late September.”

Under current regulations, every U.S. household can order four free COVID tests at COVIDTests.gov or the U.S. Postal Service website. Since its launch in January 2022, the government program has distributed more than 900 million tests to Americans.

The free tests can detect all current COVID variants and can be used until the end of 2024 – a potentially helpful strategy since the virus is currently circulating at a high rate in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The news also comes shortly after the discovery of a new COVID variant called XEC, which is spreading in Europe and has been detected in the United States. Although it has not yet appeared in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) variant surveillance data, experts speculate that it could spread more easily and become the dominant variant in the United States in the coming months.

Starting in late September, every U.S. household will be able to order four free COVID tests from COVIDTests.gov. Currently, the website for ordering tests is closed, but the ASPR expects it should reopen in the next few days.

Households can also purchase tests through the USPS website, where ordering “will resume in late September 2024.” The USPS also said households can “order standard and more accessible COVID-19 tests … while supplies last.”

Previous ordering processes required a valid US address. Packages are typically shipped within seven to twelve days.

People can also contact HRSA health centers, Test to Treat sites, or ICATT locations for more information about whether they are eligible for low-cost or free COVID testing in addition to the testing they may receive through the Free COVID Testing Program.

The free COVID tests provided by the U.S. government are FDA-approved at-home diagnostic tests that typically provide results in 30 minutes or less, according to the ASPR.

These at-home tests are also called antigen tests or rapid tests. Depending on the type of test, the test kit consists of several parts and often requires a swab from one or both nostrils. The CDC urges anyone taking an at-home test to read the package inserts thoroughly and follow the instructions exactly.

Positive results from a home test are accurate and reliable, but a negative test cannot completely rule out infection, according to the CDC. In this case, the agency recommends two to three negative antigen tests to rule out COVID infection.

Reporting your test results — whether positive or negative — can also help track the spread of the virus in the U.S. The ASPR urges people to report all test results to health authorities at MakeMyTestCount.org.