US to make more free COVID-19 tests available to order

WASHINGTON (AP) — In the wake of a summer surge in COVID-19 cases, Americans will give you the option to get free virus test kits shipped to their homes starting in late September.

U.S. households will give you the option to order up to 4 COVID-19 nasal swab tests when the federal program reopens, according to the web site COVIDtests.gov. The U.S. Health and Human Services Administration, which oversees the tests, has not announced a precise date for when ordering will begin.

The tests will detect current strains of the virus and could be ordered ahead of the vacation season, when family and friends gather for celebrations, an HHS spokesman said in an emailed statement. Over-the-counter COVID-19 home tests typically cost about $11 last 12 months.

The announcement also comes as the federal government is once more urging people to get an updated COVID-19 booster shot ahead of the autumn and winter respiratory virus season. Earlier this week, U.S. regulators approved an updated COVID-19 vaccine to combat the most recent strains of the virus and, hopefully, the upcoming winter strains. But vaccine uptake has been declining. Most Americans have some immunity from previous infections or vaccinations, but data shows that fewer than 1 / 4 of American adults took a COVID-19 vaccine last fall.

The Biden administration has issued 1.8 billion COVID-19 tests, half of which were mailed to households. It’s unclear what number of tests federal officials have readily available.

Tens of billions of taxpayer dollars have been allocated to develop tests, vaccines and coverings for COVID-19.

Although deaths and serious infections have fallen dramatically since COVID-19 began spreading across the U.S. in 2020, hospitalizations have begun to rise barely in recent weeks. In total, more than 1 million Americans have died from the virus.