From AP:
“Federal testing website
launches next week, 4 tests per home”
The federal website where
Americans can request free COVID-19 tests will begin accepting orders on
Wednesday as the White House looks to address nationwide shortages, but
supplies will be limited to just four free tests per home. Starting on Jan. 19,
the website COVIDTests.gov will provide tests at no cost, including no shipping
fee, the White House announced Friday. As he faced criticism for low inventory
and long lines for testing, President Joe Biden announced last month that the
U.S. would purchase 500 million at-home tests to launch the program and on
Thursday the president announced that he was doubling the order to 1 billion
tests.
But Americans shouldn't expect a
rapid turn-around on the orders and they will have to plan ahead and request
the tests well before they meet federal guidelines for when to use a test. The
White House said “tests will typically ship within 7-12 days of ordering"
through the U.S. Postal Service, which reports shipping times of 1-3 days for
its first-class package service in the continental United States. The Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention recommends at-home testing when experiencing
COVID-19 systems including fever, cough, sore throat, respiratory symptoms and
muscle aches, five days after a potential COVID-19 exposure, or as part of
test-to-stay protocols in schools and workplaces. “Certainly if you’re going to
gather with family, if you’re going to a gathering where people are
immunocompromised or where they’re elderly or where you have people who might
be unvaccinated or poorly protected from a vaccine that might be an opportunity
you want to test,” said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDC director, on Wednesday. Officials
emphasized that the federal website is just one way for people to procure
COVID-19 tests.
Starting on Saturday, private
insurance companies will be required to cover the cost of at-home rapid tests,
allowing Americans to be reimbursed for tests they purchase at pharmacies and
online retailers. That covers up to eight tests per month. The White House said
the four-test limit on website orders will be applied to each residential
address and will apply to the first tranche of 500 million tests. It estimates
that the cost of purchasing and distributing the first block of tests at $4
billion. Officials said they are cognizant that any launch of a website carries
some risks — and memories of the disastrous roll-out during the Obama
administration of Healthcare.gov are still fresh — but said they believe they
are well-positioned to handle expected demand for tests.
^ Biden seems to always be a minute late and a Dollar short. Even with its launch on the 19th it will take a week or more to get one in the mail. Here's the link to use though - its better than nothing:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/federal-testing-website-launches-next-193048641.html
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