My free COVID-19 tests from the government finally arrived. Did yours?

February 19, 2022 steven

I thought for sure I’d be the last one to get them.

Maybe, I never would.

After nearly a month of daily checking (and sometimes more out of pure curiosity), the email notification in my inbox Wednesday showed up as an unexpected surprise.

They were to arrive by Saturday night.

On Thursday, another email notification. They were out for delivery that day.

I didn’t know my boys checked the mail Thursday, but when I walked through the dining room, I spotted the brown, bubble mailer envelope on the table with my name on it.

The upside-down, cock-eyed label said it came from a USPS facility in Topeka, Kansas. Other than that, no other designation was on the front or back of the package.

The strange excitement built. Could they have finally arrived?

I opened up the mailer and sure enough inside were two boxes of iHealth COVID-19 rapid antigen tests. Two at-home, self-tests per box, with results in 15 minutes.

My four, free at-home COVID-19 tests from the federal government had finally come – nearly a month after I ordered them from covidtests.gov on Jan. 18. (Per the website, orders usually ship within seven to 12 days).

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Now, I could join the haves and leave the have-nots. Post my joy on social media like others I know. (I didn’t.)

My days of waiting were over. But it continues for many others, including my dad in Pennsylvania, whose tests I ordered Jan. 19, and for many of you here in Michigan, per the numerous responses I read after my Feb. 9 story wondering where the free tests were and when they were coming.

Where is my free COVID-19 test?

Jeff Zients, White House COVID-19 response coordinator, said Wednesday federal officials hit a milestone of 50 million shipped orders of free, at-home COVID-19 tests to households across the country – 200 million individual tests.

“So, 85% of the initial orders are now out the door,” he said during a White House COVID-19 briefing. “And in the next several days, we will complete the shipping of all the initial orders.”

So, maybe your free tests will be coming soon.

Zients said once the package ships, more than 60% are delivered within 24 hours and 90% within 48 hours.

“This is an effort that has no precedent,” he said. “There’s been incredibly strong demand and incredibly strong execution shipping 200 million tests directly to the Americans’ doorsteps.”

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The U.S. Department of Defense, in coordination with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, awarded contract modifications to two companies, purchasing a total of 138 million over-the-counter COVID-19 test kits, according to a release Friday.

The effort supports President Joe Biden’s plan to deliver 1 billion free, at-home COVID-19 tests to the nation.

(Note: The federal government also is making 400 million N95 masks available to the public at various retailers across the country. I finally spotted some, individually wrapped, on a table at a Rite Aid in Grosse Pointe Farms this week. The state of Michigan also is handing out free KN95 masks through various organizations, and Oakland County has drive-through locations for free KN95 masks for residents from 3-6 p.m. Tuesday at the health division’s South Oakland Health Center in Southfield and 3-6 p.m. Wednesday at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi.)

Expired COVID-19 tests

While COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations from the omicron variant surge are down significantly across the U.S. and in Michigan, and indoor mask mandates wane, testing remains an important tool, public health officials say.

So while you may not need these free COVID-19 tests now, you might in the future.

And you might want to check the expiration dates.

Both of my boxes have expiration dates of July 20 of this year, as did those of my colleague who finally received her free tests this week, too.

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But I recently noticed a message I hadn’t seen before on covidtests.gov that caught my eye, at the top of the frequently asked questions page.

The question: “My CareStart COVID-19 Home Antigen Tests are about to expire. Do I really need to use them so soon?”

The answer: No. The website states the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is allowing these CareStart tests to add three months to the expiration date on the box.

So tests that expire in March of this year are good until June 30; tests that expire in April are good until July 31, and tests that expire in May are good until Aug. 31, per the website.

Dr. Tom Inglesby, senior advisor to the White House COVID-19 response, said Wednesday that as omicron cases decline, demand for tests will, too.

He said the government is working to plan and implement a longer-term testing strategy and prepare for future testing needs, including making sure at-home tests are easy to use and accessible for everyone, including people who are blind or visually impaired and those living with disabilities.

“We’re taking steps now to sustain and expand the domestic testing capacity in this country, and we’ll be ready if we face a new variant or surge in the future,” he said.

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Inglesby said new testing companies are seeking FDA authorization and there is a new National Institutes of Health program aimed at bringing down the costs of testing along with funding for rapid study of new variants.

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