Free COVID Tests From the Government Are Back—Here's How to Get Yours

Fact checked by Nick Blackmer

• Beginning November 20, U.S. households will again be able to order an additional four free tests through COVIDTests.gov.

• People who did not order tests earlier this fall are eligible to place two orders, for a total of eight tests.

• The tests are intended for use through the end of 2023, and will include specific instructions on how to verify expiration dates.
  

Americans will once again be able to request free COVID tests from the U.S. government, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on Monday.

The Biden-Harris Administration will re-open the COVIDTests.gov website on Monday, November 20, and each household can get an extra four free COVID tests sent to them via the United States Postal Service.

Additionally, people who did not order free COVID tests earlier this fall are eligible to place two orders, for a total of eight tests.

This additional round of free tests will be the sixth since the pandemic began. As of September, the HHS’s Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response said it’s provided over 755 million free tests so far.

“If you don’t have some tests on hand that are still good and haven’t expired, this is an opportunity to go ahead and get some free tests,” Thomas Russo, MD, SUNY distinguished professor and chief of the division of infectious diseases at the Jacobs School of Medicine at the University at Buffalo, told Health. “It’s a great idea to have tests on hand. So it just expedites the whole process of sorting out if you’re infected. And if so, taking the appropriate precautions.”

In September, the HHS also announced that the White House would be investing $600 million across 12 COVID test manufacturers that should give the government about 200 million new over-the-counter COVID tests for its supply.

The funds should help the country prepare for any future pandemic-related obstacles, as well as bolster the country’s ability to manufacture tests, the HHS said.

The announcement comes at a time when COVID hospitalizations and deaths are increasing—hospitalizations surpassed 20,000 for the week of September 9 for the first time since early March, 2023.

“These critical investments will strengthen our nation’s production levels of domestic at-home COVID-19 rapid tests and help mitigate the spread of the virus,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a press release.

How To Access This Latest Round of Free COVID Tests

The COVIDTests.gov is now live, and looks similar to previous rounds of test giveaways.

In the past, people have been asked to provide a valid U.S. address, and the packages typically shipped within seven to 12 days.

These new COVID tests will detect the currently circulating COVID variants, including EG.5, the HHS assured, and should be good through the end of 2023. The tests will also come with information on how to check if the test has an extended expiration date.

Each household will be able to access four tests regardless of financial status or other factors.

In addition to this program, people can contact HRSA health centers, Test to Treat sites, or ICATT locations for more information on whether they might be eligible for low- or no-cost COVID tests. Since the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency’s May expiration, Medicare doesn’t cover over-the-counter COVID tests and private insurance providers are no longer required to.

Related: How Long Are You Contagious With COVID?

How Might Free Tests Make COVID More Manageable This Fall?

Saying that free COVID tests will be enough to stamp the tide of fall and winter COVID cases is likely an overstatement, Russo explained. However, if people make use of them, they could be beneficial.

One of the most important facets of the COVIDTests.gov program is that it helps address, if very marginally, some of the health inequities and disparities exacerbated by the pandemic, Russo said. Making the tests free allows everyone to have a few on hand, even if they can’t afford to stock up.

According to the COVID.gov website, the “program has distributed over 755 million tests directly to more than two-thirds of American households, 310 million of which went to households in underserved communities.”

This goes hand in hand with the HHS’s other efforts to give free COVID tests to long-term care facilities, senior housing, and uninsured people, among other groups, the HHS added. Another program being launched this fall—dubbed the Bridge Access Program—will offer free COVID vaccines to the uninsured or underinsured.

Beyond accessibility, COVID tests, if used correctly, should also help slow the spread of the virus, Russo added.

“If someone’s positive, the hope is they’ll take precautions in terms of not exposing themselves to other individuals,” Russo said. “So it has potentially community benefit as well.”

Free tests are good for individual health, too.

COVID antiviral treatments such as Paxlovid are more effective at keeping people out of the hospital when they’re administered early on, Russo explained.

“Having tests on hand is extraordinarily beneficial,” he said. “You could test as soon as you develop symptoms. And if positive, you can reach out to your healthcare provider and see if you’re a candidate for treatment.”

COVID tests will also be helpful as people navigate the flu, RSV, COVID, and other respiratory viruses this fall and winter, Russo added. The treatments for each of these illnesses are very different, and it’s helpful to know what’s going on upfront.

Heading into the winter months, Russo said people can utilize the free COVID test program, as well make sure they’re prepared and protected as cases are expected to increase. If people do have tests, it may be a good idea to make sure they’re functional, and not expired.

Again, however, COVID testing isn’t everything, Russo emphasized.

“[Testing] is an important piece of this, to make the diagnosis right away and get that treatment going and protect others,” Russo said. “But obviously, getting the updated booster is another critical piece of this as well.”

Getting those vaccination numbers up will be a critical step toward managing cases this winter, he added. Testing can diagnose the illness and masking can help stop it from spreading, but ideally, preventing COVID cases in the first place would be ideal, he said.

“[Testing] is a very important tool in the toolbox,” said Russo. “But we have to use all of them.”

Related: Do COVID Tests Still Work for New Variants Like EG.5 and BA.2.86?

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