If you’ve struggled to get your hands on a test for COVID-19 in the last several weeks, you’re not alone.
As of this week, it should get a little easier. A federal government website taking orders for free, at-home testing kits is set to officially launch Wednesday—but a sort of “soft opening” was today, and you can now place orders through the U.S. Postal Service here.
Right now, it’s limited to four tests per address. They should ship “within 7-12 days” of your order, according to the White House. The first batch will ship out late this month of early in February. These are “FDA-authorized at-home rapid antigen tests,” meaning you’ll get results within 30 minutes of taking the test. (As opposed to the PCR tests, which are considered more accurate but require a longer wait to process the lab work.)
You can also still get tested at Dallas County’s public drive-through sites and at major pharmacy chains. And if you can find them at the store, you can buy at-home tests—per a new federal rule, if you have health insurance, your insurer will reimburse you the cost of up to eight at-home tests per month.
Hope you’re staying healthy out there.
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