It’s been a rough season of illness so far in the US. While you might not HAVE Covid, you may need to test to rule out. 4 free tests available again here: COVID.gov/tests - Free at-home COVID-19 tests
14 Likes
Do these test for the current variants?
1 Like
How annoying. I was waiting for the free tests again but I gave up and just bought some. I know I can get reimbursed, but I am also probably too lazy to do that.
Yes!
2 Likes
Article with some info: U.S. Offers Free At-Home Covid Tests as Part of Winter Plan - The New York Times
1 Like
Thanks. Ordered some and sent link to the kids.
Just ordered some as well…had to purchase a few last week due to an illness in the family (fortunately tests came back negative) but I assume that we are going to be testing more in the near future.
From some people I know, you can go through quite a few tests not finding out if you’re POSITIVE but from waiting to test negative after a positive test!
Thank you!
1 Like
We have been getting the free ones through our insurance. Super easy (at least for us) and you can get up to 8 tests per insured person per calendar month. We go to Walgreens pharmacy and tell them we want our 8 free tests. They pull us up on the computer and process it like a prescription. Don’t have to pay at check-out and no reimbursement request needed! I did have to hunt a bit to find out how this works for our insurance (Blue Cross) but once I found the info it was easy-peasy and we get some most months. This has enabled us to test more frequently than we would have if we had to buy, or request reimbursement.
3 Likes
The link is behind the pay wall. Any chance you can summarize how to? TIA
The covidtests.gov is where you want to go and will not be behind a paywall. Just enter a few fields for your address, email etc and submit
Here:
1 Like
Yes, I used five over the week after symptoms were gone until the test showed negative.
Does that mean my (small) stockpile of older (but not expired) tests are less reliable than they could be now?
1 Like
The previous ones did detect BA.5 quite well. Are the new ones any different?
That’s my question too. I have 8 boxes of tests sitting in my cabinet. If these new ones are just like what I have, I am not requesting more!
That’s how I used all of mine up - I tested positive for days after I felt fine! Thanks for posting this - just ordered mine.
3 Likes
Many of the original tests which the government sent have now expired (although some had their expiration dates extended).
I requested new ones for my household and my daughter’s. Thanks for letting us know.
1 Like
Antigen tests were designed to cover virtually all possible variants. I am not aware that any have been updated, so what you have should be fine.
More info here and here. The second link, the FDA one, says that one test, Luminostics, Inc. Clip COVID Rapid Antigen Test, may have reduced performance for certain variants.
2 Likes
Thanks! Dh and I were just talking about ordering more.