White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said USPS officials have "expressed confidence and an interest in playing the role in delivering tests to people across the country," during a press briefing on Thursday. Territories - or that have APO, FPO, and DPO addresses - will be sent through Priority Mail.Īs the program ramps up, officials believe that timeline will shorten, and the administration is working with the USPS to swiftly deliver the tests to households. Any shipments sent to Alaska, Hawaii, and the U.S. All tests ordered in the continental United States will be shipped through First Class Package Service. "We still don’t have anything close to the national, coordinated and comprehensive testing policy that we need.” When should you expect to receive the tests?Īdministration officials predict it will take anywhere from seven to 12 days for the tests to ship. “While this policy is filling a real need and will help a lot of families, it does not help the millions of people who are covered under Medicaid, Medicare or uninsured," Corlette said. Sabrina Corlette, co-director of the Center on Health Insurance Reforms at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy in Washington, told TODAY that while forcing private insurance companies to cover the cost of at-home tests is lowering barriers that exist "slightly for some people," it does not remove them entirely. Private health insurance companies are also mandated to cover the cost of any additional at-home rapid COVID-19 test purchases. One 2020 study found that communities of color "in many major cities face higher demand than sites in whiter or wealthier areas in those same cities," and that Black and Latinx people were "more likely to experience longer wait times and understaffed testing centers." Yet, the same communities are less likely to have access to adequate, affordable, and quick COVID-19 tests. Studies have shown low-income and communities of color have a higher risk of contracting COVID-19, and are more likely to develop a serious illness if infected. "This includes working with national and local organizations with deep experience serving communities of color, people with disabilities, and other high-risk communities to serve as navigators who will raise awareness about this program and help people submit their requests for tests." "We’re taking a number of steps to ensure this program reaches our hardest-hit and highest-risk communities," one senior administration official said. The Biden Administration says it will also launch a free "call line to help those unable to access the website to place orders" and will "work with national and local community-based organizations to support the nation's hardest-hit and highest-risk communities in requesting tests," according to a White House written statement. 18, people can visit to order their free at-home tests or go directly to the U.S. Here's everything you need to know about how to order free COVID-19 rapid test kits for your home: How can you get free COVID tests? Despite public health guidance over the summer that caused the market for rapid testing to plummet, we never stopped making tests.” “And we’re sending them out as fast as we can make them. “We’re seeing unprecedented demand,” John Koval, the director of public affairs for rapid diagnostics at Abbott, the makers of BinaxNow, told NBC News. Montgomery County's COVID-19 website provides information and resources for residents, including information about making vaccine appointments, getting COVID-19 tests, data dashboards, and other resources for residents and businesses."The President committed to another 500 million just yesterday for a billion," the official said. "And we’re not saying we’re stopping there. And we’re going to keep - keep moving forward to expand testing so that Americans have it both now and moving into the future."Īt-home COVID tests have been difficult to come by due to the highly-contagious omicron variant and increased demand for on-hand tests. Please visit Montgomery County's COVID-19 website to find more information and resources for residents. Library staff cannot assist with administering the test. Please call your individual branch to confirm availability. Holiday closings are also posted for your reference. Visit Library Branches and Hours to find hours and contact information for all MCPL branches. Contact your health care provider or make an appointment for a PCR test.
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