U.S. will again offer free at-home Covid tests starting in late September

U.S. will again offer free at-home Covid tests starting in late September


Images By Tang Ming Tung | DigitalVision | Getty Images

The Biden administration on Friday said it will resume offering free at-home Covid-19 tests to American households in late September as the virus has gained a stronger foothold in the U.S. this summer.

Americans will soon be able to use COVIDtests.gov to request four free tests, administration officials told reporters during a briefing. The tests will be able to detect the Covid variants that are currently circulating, most of which are descendants of the highly contagious omicron variant JN.1. 

“These tests will help keep families and their loved ones safe this fall and winter season,” Dawn O’Connell, an assistant secretary for preparedness and response at the Health and Human Services Department, said during the briefing. “This is the seventh time over the last three years that the Biden-Harris administration has given families the opportunity to order the over-the-counter Covid-19 tests for free” through the government’s website.

The government’s program has provided more than 1.8 billion free over-the-counter Covid tests to Americans since it started in 2021, according to O’Connell.

The government is relaunching the program amid a relatively large spike in Covid cases this summer, and ahead of the fall and winter, when the virus typically spreads at higher levels each year. There is a “high” or “very high” level of Covid being detected in wastewater in almost every U.S. state, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

But the government decided to reopen the program in late September because it’s when more Americans begin to travel and gather indoors with loved ones. 

More CNBC health coverage

“As people start to travel, as they start to get together with friends and family through the holidays, we want them to have those four tests available to them at that time,” David Boucher, director of infectious disease preparedness and response at HHS, told reporters during the briefing.

By then, the latest round of Covid shots from Pfizer and Moderna will be available to most Americans in pharmacies, health clinics and other locations nationwide. The Food and Drug Administration approved those shots, which target a JN.1 offshoot called KP.2, on Thursday.

Testing is a critical tool for protection as Covid infections climb again. But lab PCR tests — the traditional method of detecting Covid — have become more expensive and less accessible for some Americans since the U.S. government ended the public health emergency in May last year. 

Still, certain local health clinics and community sites offer at-home tests to the public at no cost. 

Don’t miss these insights from CNBC PRO



Source

Walgreens doubles down on prescription-filling robots to cut costs, free up pharmacists amid turnaround
Health

Walgreens doubles down on prescription-filling robots to cut costs, free up pharmacists amid turnaround

A robotic arm fills prescriptions at a Walgreens’ micro-fulfillment center. Courtesy: Walgreens As struggling drugstore chains work to regain their footing, Walgreens is doubling down on automation.  The company is expanding the number of retail stores served by its micro-fulfillment centers, which use robots to fill thousands of prescriptions for patients who take medications to […]

Read More
Virtual chronic care company Omada Health files for IPO
Health

Virtual chronic care company Omada Health files for IPO

Omada Health smart devices in use. Courtesy: Omada Health Virtual care company Omada Health filed for an IPO on Friday, the latest digital health company that’s signaled its intent to hit the public markets despite a turbulent economy. Founded in 2012, Omada offers virtual care programs to support patients with chronic conditions like prediabetes, diabetes […]

Read More
Startup Teal Health wins FDA approval for at-home test for cervical cancer screening
Health

Startup Teal Health wins FDA approval for at-home test for cervical cancer screening

The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved the first-ever at-home test for cervical cancer screening, developed by San Francisco-based startup Teal Health. The company began developing the prototype for its Teal Wand just over five years ago. The concept was to make cervical cancer screening more accessible via telehealth and a test that could […]

Read More