Reminder! If you live in the US, you can get your free covid tests starting today.

https://www.covid.gov/tests

#covid #covid19 #tests #FreeTests

COVID.gov - Free at-home COVID-19 tests

Every U.S. household is eligible to order 4 free at-home COVID-19 tests.

COVID.gov

@stefan

Thanks for posting….really easy to order, just like before.. It does say they will start shipping Oct 2

@CJPaloma You're welcome! Also important to note that, as the site will tell you, some of the tests might have a past expiration date, which was officially extended.

@stefan

Somehow... the order form has gotten worse than it used to be?

It wouldn't validate my address unless I put everything into uppercase and gave the extended zipcode.

@ThatPrilla Didn't have that problem myself, but I'm glad it eventually worked for you.
@stefan Thank you for sharing this!
@hybridized My pleasure, thank you for passing it along!
@stefan just grabbed mine, thanks for the reminder!
@stefan many are waiting on the new COVID #vaccine, and whether that will be covered or will people have to pay out of pocket.
@stefan Thanks for the reminder. Ordered mine this morning. Process took about 3-4 minutes.
FYI there is a limit of four tests per household. Larger families will need to seek out additional sources
@Barbramon1 Yeah, that's really not a lot for a family.
@stefan The government website states that free tests are also being distributed to local communities. Contact your local health dept. Additionally CDC has a portal to help you locate free tests.
https://testinglocator.cdc.gov/
No-Cost COVID-19 Testing​

@stefan I don't have the covid 19 :skull:

@stefan It's a bit sad they don't say _which_ tests, and what their specificity/sensitivity is 😕

People need to learn that not all tests are equal, because only then will they see the benefit of high quality testing. Because *that* works. (Low quality tests are epidemiologically questionable and provide significantly reduced individual benefit.)

@larsmb @stefan I’ve gotten sick twice with something so far that has all of the major symptoms, timelines, and difficulties of COVID, as well as a bunch of weirder yeah-that-was-COVID aftereffects, and both times the infection didn’t register on home tests or on the already-outdated PCR tests, and both times I was completely dismissed by healthcare people, and just left to fend for myself, with severe respiratory symptoms on top of my asthma and other chronic disorders.

@fluffy @larsmb That's really sad, and through personal experience, I can somewhat relate.

I wish you all the best, and hope your health improves.

@stefan @larsmb thanks. I mean I’m glad testing is available, but like, people gotta understand what false negatives are, especially with a disease that mutates this rapidly.

@fluffy @stefan But *good* rapid tests don't have such a high rate of false negatives (nor positives) when used right, and that was my point.
And then they're a very effective and valuable tool to control the spread and for personal improved safety.

(And why I'm curious what tests the CDC hands out, and how they compare.)

@stefan Thanks for the reminder.