On Friday, the federal government will suspend a program that offers free at-home Covid-19 tests directly to Americans. However, you still have the chance to order your share of kits if you haven’t already.
Each household can order up to 16 rapid antigen tests until September 2. After that, the program will be halted because “Congress has not provided additional funding to replenish the nation’s testing stock,” says a message on the program’s website.
“If Congress provides funding, we will quickly resume the distribution of free tests through covidtests.gov,” a senior Biden administration official told NBC News on Sunday. “Until then, we believe that reserving the remaining tests for distribution later this year is the best course.”
The federal government launched Covidtests.gov in January during a wave of infections. The website allows individuals to order free tests to be mailed at no additional cost to the US Postal Service.
Each household could initially order a batch of four tests. In May, the maximum was increased to 16 tests per household, meaning those who had already received four could request 12 more.