With the rise of the Omicron variant, we have been urged to use rapid COVID-19 antigen tests to ensure that we are not passing the virus on to our friends and family. However, it has been very difficult to follow this suggestion, with the long lines at COVID testing stations and the high prices for home kits – when you can find them.
To try to alleviate this situation, the US federal government has created a website where you can order four free rapid test kits per month per household. While the site was supposed to officially open on Wednesday, January 19, it started taking names and addresses a day earlier.
It's extremely simple to put in your order. You will not need to provide a credit card or any other financial information.
So far we haven't had any reports of any issues with the site itself, although (as one can imagine) it is very popular. (According to analytics.usa.gov, as of 2 p.m. on Tuesday, January 18, more than 700,000 people had visited the website.)
There's now also a phone number if you're having trouble accessing the internet or having trouble placing an order:1-800-232-0233 (TTY 1-888 -720-7489).
Kits are expected to ship within 7-12 days, starting at the end of January. Until then, when it comes to rapid testing, we're still on our own.
Note: Some apartment dwellers report problems placing an order if someone else in their building has already done so:
Several solutions have been suggested if this happens to you, including putting your apartment number on the same line as your civic address, putting your apartment number on the second address line, or using a word (such as "suite" or "apartment") rather than a pound sign. None of these have been verified; we'll let you know if we hear anything else. In the meantime, if you are having trouble, you can try the 800 number mentioned above.
Updated January 18, 2:45 PM ET: Updated to add information about possible issues with ordering from an apartment.
Update January 21, 11:30 am ET: Updated to add support phone number.
