UPDATE: Washington starts offering free at-home COVID-19 tests
Washington residents looking for rapid COVID-19 tests can order them directly from the state starting Friday.
Up to five free rapid antigen tests can be ordered per household by visiting www.sayyescovidhometest.org. However, the state warns supply will be limited at first.
“We anticipate people’s initial need in the test kits will exceed our current supply pretty quickly, but our focus is sharing what we have right now,”said deputy secretary for Prevention and Health Lacy Fehrenbach.
In a news release, Fehrenbach said the state hopes to ensure households have tests during the current surge.
The state Department of Health initially shared details about the new program during a Wednesday briefing – a day after the federal government soft-launched a similar offering.
“Home tests in particular are a key component of your medical kit at home and something we want you to have on hand before you need them,” Fehrenbach said.
During the briefing, she said test kits shoukld arrive within one to two weeks once ordered. In the first week, the state hopes to serve about 350,000 households.
The state has ordered about 3.5 million tests for this program, she said. These tests will arrive over several weeks, she added, meaning supply may be initially constrained.
“When we’re low or out of stock temporarily, you will not be able to order a test,” Fehrenbach said. “So, we ask for your patience and we encourage you to check back if that happens.”
In early January, Gov. Jay Inslee announced the state intended to launch its own website portal for at home tests. At the time, he said the portal would be created through a partnership with CareEvolution and Amazon.
In the release, state Secretary of Health Umair Shah called the program an important step towards making test more widely available.
“As we work with our federal partners, we look forward to seeing an increase in the number of tests flowing directly into people’s homes over the next several weeks,” he said in the release.
People who lack internet access or need a translator will be able to order at-home testing kits through the state’s COVID-19 hotline at 1-800-525-0127.
Separately, the federal government offers free at-home tests at COVIDtests.gov. Tests are also available at local retailers and pharmacies.
Most insurers should directly cover up to eight at-home tests per month for each person on a plan, per ther release.
The state will continue to send tests and masks to community partners and schools, Shah said during the Wednesday briefing.
As of Wednesday, the state had sent 5 million N95, KN95 and surgical masks to local emergency management, local health jurisdictions, tribal partners, school districts and other partners, said COVID-19 incident commander Andrew Rose.
About 53% of eligible people 12 and older have gotten a COVID-19 vaccine booster dose, Shah also announced during the briefing.
This story was originally published January 20, 2022 at 1:37 PM with the headline "UPDATE: Washington starts offering free at-home COVID-19 tests."
