Claim Your Free COVID-19 Tests

Every household in America can now claim four free at-home COVID-19 rapid tests.

The tests, being distributed through the United States Postal Service, are entirely free to claim via a new federal website. They are expected to ship seven to 12 days after they are claimed.

President Joe Biden announced a plan to offer the rapid, antigen tests for free in December as the country dealt with a surge in cases as a result of the omicron variant.

The new site officially launched on Wednesday, but users were able to claim tests beginning on Tuesday. A total of 500 million tests are available.

But the process hasn’t been without bugs. Numerous users on social media are reporting issues with getting the tests sent to apartment buildings after a single resident has claimed theirs. But multiple reports suggest those encountering the issue should include their unit number on the street address line (i.e. “123 Number Lane APT 4”).

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that the at-home tests be used by individuals that: begin to experience disease symptoms, are gathering indoors with others that are at risk of severe disease or unvaccinated or are unsymptomatic but five days post-exposure to someone with a confirmed case of the disease.

The tests are intended to supplement the testing sites that have been operating since mid-2020, often with federal funding. There are more than 20,000 free testing sites operating across the country according to the Biden administration. Those sites primarily rely on PCR-style tests which are sent to a lab for processing.

As of Jan. 15, private insurance companies are also now required to cover the cost of up to eight at-home tests per individual per month. But unlike the free, by-mail distribution, much of the insurance support is expected to be provided on a reimbursement basis.

On Tuesday, the Milwaukee Common Council held off on implementing its contested directive to the Milwaukee Health Department to purchase more than 200,000 at-home tests. Lead sponsor Alderwoman Marina Dimitrijevic asked for the resolution to be held to allow the anticipated federal distribution to play out. “It sounds amazing and I hope it is,” she said.

Dimitrijevic, who championed tapping a larger federal grant to cover the estimated $1.4 million cost of the tests, said she wanted to avoid being duplicative in test distribution. MHD officials previously said they were already working to purchase the rapid tests, but were unable to find a vendor that had any availability.

Halting the city purchase directive also halted, for now, a council-led cash vaccination incentive program.

Claim your tests here.