BY MELISSA PATRICK
KENTUCKY HEALTH NEWS

Starting in late September, the federal government will relaunch its at-home COVID-19 test program that makes every U.S. household eligible for four free COVID-19 tests to be sent directly to their home.

The test, which can be ordered from COVIDTests.gov at the end of September, will detect the current variants and can be used through the end of the year, according to a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services news release.

“COVID-19 testing can help you know if you have COVID-19 so you can decide what to do next, like getting treatment to reduce your risk of severe illness and taking steps to lower your chances of spreading the virus to others,” according to the release.

Since the pandemic began, HHS says the program has distributed more than 900 million COVID-19 tests directly to American’s homes.

The news comes at nearly the same time as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved two updated COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna for the fall season. An updated Novavax vaccine is expected to get approval sometime this year.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the updated vaccines for everyone ages 6 months and older.

Kentucky Health News is an independent news service of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, based in the School of Journalism and Media at the University of Kentucky, with support from the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky.