WASHINGTON — The Biden administration has started taking orders for free at-home COVID tests. The website, COVIDTests.gov, includes a link for Americans to order up four at-home tests per residential address, to be delivered by the U.S. Postal Service. The orders are then submitted at special.usps.com/testkits.
The website is part of the Biden administration's plan to fight the highly contagious omicron variant of COVID-19. The federal government is limiting the number of tests any household can order due to projected high demand. Four tests can be shipped per household, not per person.
The White House said when announcing this plan that more tests could go out at some point to each household, but that depends on supply.
If you have trouble with your order, or do not have access to the internet, there is a phone number to call. It's 1-800-232-0233.
The government has set up a separate line for those who use a text telephone. That number is 1-888-720-7489.
The tests have been in short supply for the past several months as COVID cases tied to the highly contagious omicron variant have surged and people traveled for the holiday season.
But these tests are not designed to be shipped out to your house once you start feeling sick.
The White House says “tests will typically ship within 7-12 days of ordering” through the U.S. Postal Service.
Americans will need to request the tests well before they meet the guidelines for requiring them since USPS shipping times are at least 1-3 days. The tests should be ordered and kept until somebody in your household starts to feel sick with COVID-like symptoms.