Free COVID Tests Available From U.S. Government: How To Order In NY

NEW YORK — The Biden administration announced recently it will provide hundreds of millions of dollars to help produce new, at-home COVID-19 tests, and starting Monday New Yorkers may once again order up to four free tests per household.

The news comes amid a nearly 8-percent rise in hospitalizations during the week of Sept. 9, the most recent data available on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s website. Deaths were up 2.3 percent as well across the country.

In New York, hospitalizations were up 21.1 percent, as of Sept. 9, and deaths were up 2.8 percent, as of Thursday.

Orders can be placed at COVIDTests.gov starting Monday, the Department of Health and Human Services said. The tests will be delivered for free by the U.S. Postal Service.

Dawn O’Connell, the assistant secretary for preparedness and response at the HHS department, said the money would fund 200 million tests as the government seeks to replenish its tests. Twelve manufacturers — that employ hundreds across seven states — were awarded funding to make the over-the-counter tests.

The website will remain online for orders through the holidays, O’Connell said, noting “we reserve the right to keep it open even longer if we're starting to see an increase in cases.”

“If there is a demand for these tests, we want to make sure that they're made available to the American people for free in this way,” O'Connell said. “But, at this point, our focus is getting through the holidays and making sure folks can take a test if they're going to see Grandma for Thanksgiving."

Of note: the tests are designed to detect coronavirus variants currently circulating, and they’re meant to be used by year’s end. They will include instructions on how to verify extended expiration dates, the department said.

“We’ve seen every winter, as people move indoors into heated spaces, away from the outside that, over each of the seasons that COVID’s been a concern, that we have seen cases go up," O'Connell said.

The news comes less than two weeks after the U.S. approved updated COVID-19 vaccines, as federal health officials hoped to rev up protection against the latest coronavirus strains and blunt any surge this fall and winter.

The Food and Drug Administration decision opened the newest shots from Moderna and Pfizer and its partner BioNTech to most Americans, even if they've never had a coronavirus vaccination. The move was part of a shift to treat fall updates of the COVID-19 vaccine much like getting a yearly flu shot.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.