WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans can request more COVID-19 tests for home delivery.
The U. S. government is proposing to send out a new circular of four at-home tests to detect the virus before the typical surge in the winter holiday period.
Anyone who didn’t order a batch of 4 COVID-19 tests in September can get up to 8 this time starting Monday in COVIDtests. gov. The U. S. Postal Service The U. S. Department of Homeland Security will deliver them free of charge.
The government is sending out coronavirus tests as flu season begins and a rise in RSV cases has been reported in some parts of the country. Hospitalizations similar to COVID-19, which has killed more than a million people in the U. S. , increased this fall, however, they have remained solid in recent weeks. Immunity from vaccines and past infections has kept the number of cases lower than in other years.
The new edition of free COVID-19 nasal swab testing also comes as we approach the first winter since the start of the pandemic in which insurers are no longer required to cover the cost. On average, at-home tests now cost $11 out-of-pocket, according to a study by nonprofit fitness studio company KFF.
The Food and Drug Administration also approved updated COVID-19 vaccines in September in hopes of increasing coverage for Americans this winter. The shots target a descendant of Omicron called XBB. 1. 5, which replaces older vaccines that targeted the original strain of the coronavirus and a much earlier edition of Omicron. The shots are for people 6 months of age and older, but their absorption has been slow.
U. S. taxpayers have spent tens of billions on COVID-19 tests, vaccines, and remedies in the three years since the pandemic began.