Get your free COVID tests while you can. Citing a lack of funding, the federal government says starting Friday, you'll no longer be able to order through its free at-home COVID-19 test site.
The federal government launched its site, covidtests.gov, in January. Originally, each household was able to request one order of four tests. In May, White House officials expanded orders to three per household, with each order containing four rapid antigen tests. The tests usually ship within 12 days, according to the White House.
For help placing an order, call 800-232-0233 (daily from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. PST). In some cases, addresses may not be recognized as multifamily homes or units. If there's an issue because you believe an order has already been placed using your address, contact USPS at 800-275-8777 or file a service request at emailus.usps.com/s/the-postal-store-inquiry.
It was not immediately clear whether there will be any change in the state's free test program. As of Monday morning, tests could still be ordered through the Washington state COVID test website. New orders may be placed each month.
Kits should arrive about one to two weeks after ordering, according to the site. In some parts of the state, residents also have the option of picking up tests locally, but people are urged to call their local health department first to check.
Expiration dates for rapid tests have been extended a few times, so old tests may still be good to use. The shelf lives for the popular iHealth COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Test and BinaxNOW COVID-19 Antigen Self Test have been extended 12 months and 15 months, respectively, by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
For a comprehensive list of tests and information on expiration dates, visit st.news/COVIDexpiration.
Staff reporter Amanda Zhou contributed to this report.
