10 ms·
COVIDtests.gov – Free at-home Covid-19 tests
- empressplay 5y agoMuch too little _way_ too late
- _eht 5y ago
- kerneloftruth 5y ago"It’s time for us to do what we have been doing, and that time is every day." -- Kamala Harris, January 2022
- hn8788 5y agoThese would have been nice earlier. They've been out of stock for a long time, and I know people who had to use up their vacation days waiting for them to come back in stock because their employer wouldn't let them back in the office until they showed a negative test result.
- andrewxdiamond 5y agoIf your employer is blocking you from coming back into the office due to health reasons, how can they mandate you use vacation days for it? Was the alternative to be without pay?
- _nickwhite 5y ago"Ordering begins January 19." I see they have this behind Akamai. That's a good thing because my first thought was "Man, I hope they have this site behind a good load balancer!"
- vmception 5y agoa viral load balancer
- exabrial 5y ago
- ISL 5y agoNot always -- sometimes they're paid for by devaluing everyone's currency.
- KoftaBob 5y agoPeople who make this comment, do you really think that it's not a basic assumption that a government service is tax funded? Where the hell else would the funding come from? Does "it's not free you pay for it from your taxes" really need to be said? "free" in this instance means no charge on top of the taxes funding it. For instance, Amtrak is partially tax funded but charges fares.
- SSilver2k2 5y ago<3 Thank you for saying what I couldn't put into words.
- techsupporter 5y ago> do you really think that it's not a basic assumption that a government service is tax funded? My impression is that they are fully aware but they don't want, for whatever reason, to come right out with the "taxes are theft" framing. The astounding irony of posting these messages using a set of technologies and infrastructure originated via taxes collected and then used by the government makes my head hurt.
- SSilver2k2 5y agoYou mean taxes. I'm happy our taxes are going to this.
- glofish 5y agowhy? what is the benefit in covering the world in test, what difference does it make? If I test myself tomorrow four times "for free" - how did that benefit anyone? wouldn't it much better if the tests went to people that actually needed it? Giving out "free" test is basically a massive waste, most test are not used when needed.
- SSilver2k2 5y agoFor a brief while after getting vaccinated, before Delta and Omicron, my friends, coworkers, and I felt we were out of the woods. We are actively going out together to our favorite hangouts and being normal. I didn't think we would need this site. Finding out that my Governor let a million tests expire rather than give them out, make me happy this site is available. I'm glad I can rely on the federal government to fix what my state government is ruining.
- JohnTHaller 5y agoFor the curious, Florida Gov Desantis revealed they'd let 800,000 to 1 million tests expire sitting in a warehouse. The federal govt granted an exception and they're being sent out to be used at testing sites. These aren't at-home tests.
- jjcon 5y agoWouldn't over-ordering be better than under ordering?
- toomuchtodo 5y agoThey weren't over ordered. The evidence strongly supports that they were purposely held back by the DeSantis administration and the Florida Department of Health while pushing monoclonal antibodies [2]. > Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said last week that the tests weren't distributed because of "low demand." [1] > Florida residents have also described months of difficulty getting tests, with long lines and few testing appointment available. [1] I haven't filed the relevant FOIA requests myself, but Florida open government and transparency laws are fairly robust for those who are inquiring in this specific matter. [1] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-tests-expired-florida-fda-approves-use/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-tests-expired-florida-fda... [2] https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/coronavirus/2022/01/03/more-covid-monoclonal-antibody-treatments-sought-florida-gov-ron-desantis/9079704002/ https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/coronavirus/2022/01...
- 5y ago
- TigeriusKirk 5y agoWhy are they not just being sent to everyone? There's a lot of potential good in sending them to people who will never request them.
- awb 5y agoSome people are anti-vaccine and some are even anti-testing. A large % of the red state population doesn’t want a test.
- Karsteski 5y agoWhat is with Americans viewing every issue through a red/blue, republicans/democrats or conservative/progressive lens?
- jimmygrapes 5y agoWe don't all do so, and the above poster is showing their bigotry with this assumption (and I'm sure I'll get some polling result to "prove" their assertion). Their last sentence could have and should have been left out.
- vkou 5y agoIt's not bigotry to observe that there's a significant portion of the population that believes things like 'COVID tests infect you with COVID.' It's just an observation of fact. My friend's parents (Stockton, CA) aren't getting tested for this reason. They didn't get tested the first time they came down with 'Valley Fever', back in 2020, either. (They also quit their jobs because of vaccination requirements, and believe that Trump won in 2020, and that he will reclaim the presidency on <a number of dates that have long passed>. It doesn't make me a bigot to point this sort of thing out, or that these beliefs tend to cluster.)
- shepherdjerred 5y agoBecause it’s the dominant division of people here
- ct0 5y agoBy the time you think you need one, and the delay in shipping, its already too late. But its something, I guess. My wife needed a test, 3 weeks ago and I believe she is still waiting for them to arrive from the State.
- babyshake 5y agoIs the problem with ordering them when you don't yet need them that they expire quickly?
- ISL 5y agoRapid tests need to be on-hand prior to the time that you need them.
- technothrasher 5y agoI figured this out last time I wanted one and had to search all over several towns to finally find just one single box left. At that point, I ordered a bunch for my company and let my employees know we've got them so that they can have one pretty quickly when they need one without them all having to stockpile them personally. Helps them, and hopefully helps me keep sick employees away from the factory.
- tssva 5y agoThat's why you order your tests before you actually need them.
- awb 5y agoToo bad they couldn’t partner with Amazon and have a “get it by tomorrow” option.
- __blockcipher__ 5y agoAs long as the current COVID protocols stay in place (people needing or feeling they need to get tested after every possible COVID exposure, testing young children any time they have a runny nose so they can go to daycare, etc), I doubt that the supply chain will ever be able to support the number of tests demanded. If you run the numbers it's pretty insane how many of those test-kits would be needed.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- Symbiote 5y agoThere's a dead comment (so I can't reply to it) wondering how much these cost. In October, it was reported that US states were overpaying compared to Europe [1]: > Rapid antigen tests can cost as little as $2 each to make, according to Mologic, one of the largest British testmakers. But in the United States, bidding wars between health systems, state governments, and employers have contributed to much higher prices. ... In Germany, large government purchases allow it to offer rapid tests to residents for less than $1 each Here in Denmark, they're about 25kr ($4) each in shops, or a little less if ordered online. However, most people go to the public test centres, which are free. (We've reached an average of 19 tests per person, which I think doesn't include home tests.) [1] https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/rapid-covid-19-tests-increasingly-scarce-pricey-demand-employers-jumps-2021-10-05/ https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/...
- neogodless 5y agoThe cheapest I've seen in U.S. retail was $7.50 / test ($15 for 2-pack) from Wal-mart, which has recently increased to $10 / test.
- david_allison 5y agoChrist, I can go to a chemist and get a pack of 7 free of charge, or order online for next day delivery.
- dgellow 5y ago> In Germany, large government purchases allow it to offer rapid tests to residents for less than $1 each I bought some at Lidl and Aldi for less then 1€ a few months ago. You can buy them almost everywhere, the current price is ~2-3€ now. I don’t really see what the government has to do with this, they don’t sell tests as far as I understand.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- wskinner 5y agoHonest question: what is the expected impact of this intervention compared to an alternate world where the intervention is not performed?
- WCityMike 5y agoGaming it out in my head, I would assume that this increases access to testing for those who are either uninsured or those who could not afford the turnaround time for their insurance to reimburse them for purchase of at-home testing. As such, in this alternate world without the intervention, a chunk of the populace cannot afford to test. If one wanted to make slightly rasher assumptions, this segment might include those who are in jobs (Walmart, food preparation and service) that expose them to a large part of the population.
- owenmarshall 5y agoEfficiently being able to source a test when needed may serve to reduce the load on the medical system. As of today, if I want a test, my options are * private seller - hard to source with high demand and expensive for those with limited income * public test center - availability is a nightmare right now * medical provider, be it PCP or ER I don’t personally know how many people are choosing option 3, but anecdotally I have heard from friends and colleagues that they’ve chosen it for when their kids/they are sick. There’s also an interesting side effect here: every at-home positive is a positive public health authorities won’t know about.
- nradov 5y agoHow will this reduce the load on the medical system? Most ERs already turn away patients who come in asking for a test unless they have severe symptoms.
- frereubu 5y agoBy slowing the spread due to people who test positive at home staying there rather than going out and infecting others. The same number of people may get infected in the end, but it will be over a longer period of time.
- smallmouth 5y agoThis isn't going to go away until people stop testing.
- basisword 5y agoHow is this only happening now? Do any states already do this? In the UK we’ve been able to order a box of 7 lateral flow tests, for free (no shipping costs either), once per day, since last April. In other words 49 tests per week (per household). They’re not a perfect solution (since you can test negative when in the very early stages of an infection I believe) but they’re pretty good. They’ve made all of my group interactions so much safer, particularly during this latest wave, and have saved me from hanging out with people who are positive (and asymptomatic at the time) on numerous occasions. The British government is a joke and they’ve still managed to get basics like rapid testing and vaccinations right. How can a country with resources like the US not have this available?
- dillondoyle 5y agoColorado did. I got a couple free tests mailed to me. But agree it should have been done nationwide. Same with masks. Trump canceled the idea of USPS mailing free masks and at least one supplier publicly complained he couldn't get a federal commitment for long term production. When I visited France last summer during low point tests where available everywhere and super cheap.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- abeppu 5y ago4 per "home" -- but in the US the average number of people per household is a bit above 2.5. Similarly 500M tests in a country of 330M people. Both get us to more than 1 but less than 2 test per person. But to make a difference at a public health level, shouldn't we be testing regularly? If you have one test you have to decide when you're going to use it, which will surely be after you're symptomatic. If you want asymptomatic people to realize they're carrying it around, we have to provide enough tests that they can check regularly. Yes, for those with private insurance it's good that in principle one can be reimbursed for buying home test kits (starting tomorrow) but good luck finding them! When I traveled recently I checked 3 pharmacies, and got responses ranging from "try again next week" to "we've been out of stock for 2 months".
- panarky 5y agoSeems predictable that a government website won't handle the load on day one. But this site is hosted by Akamai so maybe this time it's different?
- skeetergrl 5y ago
- skeetergrl 5y ago
- benpiper 5y agoCalling these Covid tests is disingenuous. They're PCR tests for viral fragments. We all know someone who had a positive "Covid test" and never showed any symptoms.
- throwawaygh 5y agoNo they aren't. Literally the first item in the FAQ on the site says "NOT PCR"...