Madison Kwiecinski 

News Editor

Mvk5945@psu.edu 

The COVID-19 pandemic has been an ongoing battle now for nearly two years. Regular and accessible testing for coronavirus is one of the most important tools in fighting this disease and limiting its spread. The Biden Administration recently began the process of ordering and distributing a billion at-home rapid tests to provide to Americans for free. 

Rapid tests can be used to ensure safety at events. The Center of Disease Control and Prevention, as well as public health experts, recommend that at-home rapid tests are used when someone begins to have symptoms of the virus, when an indoor gathering where high-risk or unvaccinated individuals will be in attendance is going to be taking place, and whenever five days have elapsed since close contact with someone who has received a positive COVID-19 diagnosis. 

The federal testing program began on January 19, and is initially allowing for four tests to be ordered per residential address. The program also began with a half-billion tests being available for order, with the other half-billion to be available later. Tests can be ordered online as COVIDTests.gov, with tests typically shipping between 7 and 12 days after the order is placed. 

The Administration also stated in the press release that in order, “To ensure equity and access for all Americans, the Administration will also launch a call line to help those unable to access the website to place orders, and to work with national and local community-based organizations to support the nation’s hardest-hit and highest-risk communities in requesting tests.” 

Also, within the last year four times as many pharmacies have begun participating in the federal pharmacy free testing program. Over 20,000 testing facilities exist across the U.S. today. Additionally, several other federal programs have provided testing to people. The American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding allocated $10 billion to provide testing in school districts K-12 age. Another $6 billion in ARP funding was dedicated to covering free testing for those in shelters, mental facilities, correctional facilities, and for the uninsured. 

On January 15, 2022 the Administration announced that private health insurance companies are obligated to cover the cost of the COVID-19 at-home test for free. The Administration also is allocating another 10 million tests to schools nationwide on a monthly basis.