Ordering at-home COVID test kits has been made easier. There is now a hotline available in addition to the online ordering option.
All U.S. residents may now order free household COVID-19 test kits online at COVIDtests.gov or by phone at 1-800-232-0233. The automated phone ordering system is available for those who may have difficulty accessing the internet or need extra help placing their orders.
According to the White House, the phone line is open from 8 a.m. to midnight ET seven days a week and offers assistance in more than 150 languages.
Every household is limited to four free COVID test kits, regardless of family size.
MORE: Northeast Georgia area weekly COVID Update
The website began taking at-home test orders on Jan. 18, and the tests began shipping out on Jan. 20, according to White House COVID response coordinator Jeff Zients.
“The Postal Service is moving incredibly fast here,” he said. “They are packing and shipping tests as soon as they arrive. Tens of millions of tests have arrived so far. It’s an all-hands-on-deck effort.”
The Biden administration — which has been criticized for not procuring the hundreds of millions of tests it’s now acquired earlier, ahead of the omicron-driven surge — has said that the orders could take seven to 12 days to ship out.
In sending out the free tests, the White House is prioritizing what it calls “the most vulnerable Americans,” as the first 20% of each day’s orders are directed to ZIP codes that measure high on the federal government’s Social Vulnerability Index, the Associated Press reports.
“We want to make sure those communities are, instead of being the afterthought, first in line in so many ways,” Dr. Cameron Webb, who advises the White House COVID response team, told NBC News. “That’s taking steps in the right direction toward equity.”
Free masks
Retail pharmacies such as Walgreens and CVS are also now handing out free N95 masks. And while some health centers may also carry them, Northeast Georgia public health departments are not.
“County Health Departments are not distributing at-home test kits or N95 masks to residents,” says District 2 Public Health spokesperson Natasha Young.
The District is continuing to operate free PCR drive-thru testing locations in Forsyth, Franklin, Hall, Habersham, Lumpkin, Stephens, Rabun and Union counties.
Public health officials urge the public to follow CDC guidelines if you are feeling sick or have been exposed to COVID-19.
