People in the United States can now order four more free, at-home rapid Covid-19 antigen tests from COVIDtests.gov as part of the Biden administration's effort to increase coronavirus testing.
The program, run in partnership with the U.S. Postal Service, began during the omicron surge in December. As with the last round of test shipments, entering a U.S. home address at COVIDtests.gov will create a free order for four tests. Households that already received a package of tests from the site are eligible to request a new one.
President Joe Biden announced the additional free tests in his State of the Union address last week.
“Even if you already ordered free tests tonight, I am announcing that you can order more from COVIDtests.gov starting next week,” he said.
Reporters from NBC News successfully ordered second batches of Covid-19 tests on Monday, though a message on the website still advises those who previously ordered tests to “check back later to place a second order.”
The Postal Service announced last week that it had delivered 270 million tests in 68 million packages to American households since shipments began in January.
“The Postal Service immediately pivoted from a successful 2021 peak holiday season to focus on the delivery of America’s COVID-19 test kits,” the statement said.
At the peak of the omicron variant's spread in the U.S. in January, tests were scarce and in high demand, NBC News reported. But Covid rates have since plummeted, and the supply of tests is less constrained.
Since Jan. 15, the Biden administration has been requiring insurance companies to reimburse people for up to eight over-the-counter, at-home Covid tests per month.
In his State of the Union address, Biden also announced a "test-to-treat" program at pharmacies, enabling pharmacists to issue prescriptions for antiviral pills on the spot for people who test positive for Covid.
As of Friday, an average of 3.8 percent of Covid tests were coming back positive nationally, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
