With COVID-19 infections spiking around the country, the federal government will again offer free at-home tests, starting in late September.
Every U.S. household will be able to order up to four COVID tests that can detect the variants currently circulating, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said.
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The federal government has distributed more than 900 million free tests through the program that has been operating on and off since 2022. The free COVID tests will be available through COVIDtests.gov. The at-home tests usually provide results in 30 minutes or less.
Philadelphia's health department also offers free at-home test kits at five resource hubs.
Vaccines are the best way to protect against COVID, health experts say, but testing helps people decide whether they need to take steps to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend people with COVID return to normal activities once any fever is gone and symptoms have been improving for 24 hours.
On Thursday, the Food and Drug Administration approved new vaccines that target the variants behind the summer COVID surge. The CDC recommends people six months and older get the updated COVID vaccine, regardless of whether they've been vaccinated before.
Philadelphia has seen an increase in COVID infections, emergency department visits where people test positive for the virus and COVID-related hospitalizations. But there has not been an uptick in COVID-related deaths, according to the Philadelphia Department of Public Health.
