Ordering free COVID test kits to resume

As summer ends, with a peak in COVID-19 cases this year, and as cooler
weather approaches when people begin to congregate inside, the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services announced that the opportunity
to order free COVID-19 tests through the U.S. Postal Service will return
at the end of September. Currently, this source of ordering is closed.

U.S. households will be eligible to order 4 free COVID-19 tests at
COVIDTests.gov (www.aspr.hhs.gov/covid-19/test/Pages/default.aspx). The
specific date on which this program will resume has not yet been
announced. Currently, test kits can be bought at most local pharmacies.
The free test kits through USPS had stopped in March; but now it will
resume.

The COVID-19 Tests will detect current COVID-19 variants and can be used
through the end of the year.

HHS urges, “COVID-19 testing can help you know if you have COVID-19 so
you can decide what to do next, like getting treatment to reduce your
risk of severe illness and taking steps to lower your chances of
spreading the virus to others.”

This follows the Aug. 22 Federal Food and Drug Administration’s approval
of another COVID-19 vaccine.

“The mRNA COVID-19 vaccines have been updated with this formula to more
closely target currently circulating variants and provide better
protection against serious consequences of COVID-19, including
hospitalization and death. Today’s actions relate to updated mRNA
COVID-19 vaccines manufactured by ModernaTX Inc. and Pfizer Inc,” the
FDA wrote in its press release.

Both vaccines target KP.2, a strain of the coronavirus that started to
spread widely this spring. The variants that are most prevalent in the
United States right now are very similar to KP.2, and so the vaccines
should protect against them.

“Vaccination continues to be the cornerstone of COVID-19 prevention,”
Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics
Evaluation and Research, said in the press release. “These updated
vaccines meet the agency’s rigorous, scientific standards for safety,
effectiveness, and manufacturing quality.”

The COVIDtests.gov program distributed over 900 million tests directly
to American households. The U.S. government continues to make COVID-19
tests available to uninsured individuals and underserved communities
through existing outreach programs. To learn how to access low- or no
cost COVID-19 tests provided by the federal government contact
HRSA-funded health center or ICATT location
(www.cdc.gov/icatt/testinglocator.html). There are facilities available
in both Hemet and Palm Springs.

Vaccination remains the most effective way to prevent COVID-19. To learn
more about the current vaccines, visit the Federal Center for Disease
Control’s COVID-19 webpage (www.cdc.gov/covid/index.html).

People who are at highest risk for severe disease, including those who
are 65 and older, people who are immunocompromised and those with
underlying medical conditions, should get the updated vaccines as soon
as they are available.