Over the last few days, the Biden administration has unveiled a website and a phone number for people to order free at-home COVID-19 tests, and also begun to ship high-quality N95 masks that are available for free at local pharmacies and community health centers, as described in news reports from NPR and CNN.
Even though it comes nearly two years into the COVID-19 pandemic — after several deadly waves of infections, and after many people hoped widespread vaccination would have limited the need for testing — the new system for ordering free at-home COVID-19 tests has been praised for its ease of use, and for avoiding any major problems in its rollout. All U.S. households can order up to four free tests, either by visiting COVIDtests.gov or by calling (800) 232-0233. The phone line is open from 8:00 a.m. to midnight Eastern time, seven days a week, and assistance is available in over 150 languages. So far, the U.S. government has received at least tens of millions of tests from manufacturers, and is set to receive hundreds of millions of tests. Orders are expected to be shipped seven to 12 days after they are placed, either online or by phone.
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At-home COVID tests mailing daily
Each day, according to the White House, 20% of tests are sent to ZIP codes that score highest on the U.S. government’s Social Vulnerability Index — meaning that residents tend to be lower-income and have fewer resources. These communities are prioritized for free COVID-19 test shipment because residents often can’t afford to buy these tests at local pharmacies, and other free testing options are often not available in these communities. And in rural areas that are included in this priority status, getting a test by mail may be the only way to get tested.
At the same time, the U.S. government has begun to send N95 masks to local pharmacies and community health centers for free distribution. These masks come from the Strategic National Stockpile, and represent the beginning of what is expected to be about 400 million masks distributed under the program. Up to three free masks will be available to all U.S. residents under this program. Pharmacy chains that have already begun distributing the masks include Hy-Vee and Meijer supermarkets, with other supermarket pharmacies soon to follow including Winn-Dixie, Harveys Supermarket, and Fresco y Más. Walgreens will have free masks available at some locations starting this week, and CVS pharmacies are expected to follow in the coming weeks.
Not all community health centers nationwide will be offering free masks as part of the latest rollout. Because of logistical challenges, right now only 100 to 200 community health centers are set to start distributing free masks this month. You can contact your local community health center to ask if they will be offering masks as part of the latest program.
Currently, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends wearing a high-quality mask in indoor public spaces — although the agency emphasizes that wearing any mask is likely to be better than no mask, even if it doesn’t offer the strong protection against COVID-19 that N95 masks do.
All of these measures come as officially counted new cases of COVID-19 have begun to fall and hospitalizations have stayed about the same since a week earlier, while deaths from COVID-19 continue to rise due to the weeks it can take for a new infection to result in death, as noted by the Washington Post.
Want to learn more about coronavirus and diabetes? Read our latest COVID-19 updates.