09/23/2024 – Soon, maybe even today, free federal corona tests may be ordered.
Each household has the correct to order 4 tests from COVIDTests.gov that are delivered freed from charge by mail. The website says that ordering shall be possible by the top of the month. The tests “detect current COVID-19 variants and can be used until the end of the year,” says the web site, which appears to have been updated early Monday morning and at times returned the message “server overloaded.”
This time last yr, free tests were also being offered by the federal government, although lots of them have now expired. Some COVID test kits have had their expiry dates prolonged, and one FDA website offers a search function to envision whether a kit continues to be usable.
“A COVID-19 test can help you find out if you have COVID-19 so you can decide what to do next, such as getting treatment to reduce your risk of severe illness and taking steps to reduce your chance of spreading the virus to others,” the CDC's testing webpage says.
The CDC now recommends that anyone with a positive COVID test take the identical steps they might in the event that they tested positive for other respiratory illnesses just like the flu, including staying home and away from others until symptoms improve and you will have been fever-free for twenty-four hours without taking a fever-reducing medication like Tylenol.
As you come back to highschool, work, and other normal activities, the CDC recommends taking extra precautions for a further 5 days, resembling washing your hands more often, physical distancing, and wearing a mask when around people indoors. These steps will help protect others who could also be at high risk of severe illness from COVID.
In August, the CDC really helpful that everybody 6 months and older get the most recent version of the COVID vaccine. The vaccine, just like the flu shot, is updated annually to combat newer strains of the virus. The shots can be found now.
A very long-lasting summer COVID surge is finally on the mend, with 15% of tests reported to the CDC returning positive results. Last yr, the COVID surge began to rise again in late October and peaked in January. The season also brings increased risks from flu And Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), each of which currently remain at low levels nationwide.