US government to relaunch free Covid-19 home test program

Originally Published: 20 SEP 23 13:57 ET By Jamie Gumbrecht, CNN

(CNN) — The US government will relaunch a program to provide free Covid-19 home tests to Americans, US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said Wednesday.

“We will once again begin our program to provide Americans with an opportunity to request tests,” Becerra said during an event at a Washington, D.C., CVS Pharmacy, where he was vaccinated against Covid-19 and flu. More information on the Covid-19 testing program is coming soon, he said.

Becerra said HHS’ Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response “has been resupplying our stockpile” and some of those tests would be made available for the respiratory virus season.

Previously, the US government has offered multiple rounds of free Covid-19 tests to people who requested them through Covidtests.gov. The program was suspended at the end of May, after the end of the Covid-19 public health emergency, to preserve supply.

Covid-19 hospitalizations have been on the rise in the United States since July, with weekly admissions now more than triple what they were two months ago. More than 20,500 people in the US were admitted to the hospital with Covid-19 during the week ending September 9, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — about 8% higher than the week before.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

CNN’s Deidre McPhillips contributed to this report.

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