Free COVID-19 tests available again; find out how to get them

The government is once again sending free COVID-19 tests to households this year.

The portal to order them opened on Thursday so you can visit COVIDTests.gov to have four test kits sent to your home for free. They will be mailed next week.

There are also new tests that are available for people who have visual impairment or issues with their dexterity. The tests do not have to have a liquid that is added to a cartridge, so you don’t have to try and count drops. There is also no dropper to squeeze. To get the accessible tests, there is a separate page, which can be found here.

This is the seventh time the federal government has provided free at-home COVID-19 tests since the pandemic began, CNN reported.

Since 2021, more than 900 million tests have been sent, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

The tests will be able to detect the current strains of the virus, CNN reported. But they may not be as reliable as they were in the past as people have developed stronger immune responses over the past few years. Because of that, federal officials suggest testing twice, 48 hours apart when you’re sick, The Washington Post reported.

“In order to be positive for an antigen test, you really have to have a lot of virus present,” associated professor of clinical pathology, Susan Butler-Wu, told the newspaper. “If you are doing it for screening before you are meeting family members, you could be negative and you could still be infectious.”

PCR tests, which are analyzed in labs, can detect lower amounts of the virus and are more accurate.

If you do test positive, you should isolate when you show respiratory virus symptoms whether it is COVID-19 or another illness. You should continue to do so until you are fever-free for 24 hours without medications and if your symptoms are improving. If you still test positive but do go out, you should mask, social distance and stay away from others for five days, the Post reported.

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