NEW YORK – The US Department of Health and Human Services will once again provide free at-home tests for SARS-CoV-2 to US residents, the agency said last week.
US households will be eligible to order four free antigen-based COVID-19 tests at COVIDTests.gov at the end of September, according to the HHS's Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response website. The tests will detect current SARS-CoV-2 variants and can be used through the end of the year.
The program began in January 2022 during the spread of the Omicron variant but was paused in September of that year due to lack of Congressional funding. The White House reopened the program in December 2022 and September 2023.
The restarting of the free testing program comes amid a surge in COVID-19 cases. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of Aug. 16, COVID-19 infections were growing or likely increasing in 27 states, declining or likely declining in four states, and were stable or uncertain in 17 states.
Last week, the US Food and Drug Administration also approved updated vaccines for COVID-19, which target the KP.2 strain that fueled a surge in infections in the spring. The newest strains are similar to KP.2.