COVID-19 testing: Still important, but the free tests from USPS are running out!

As we try our best not to spread COVID-19 to our families, coworkers, classmates, and other fellow community members, one crucial tool is testing for the virus.

COVID-19 testing is a lot easier than it was initially. These days, it’s a simple, short swab of your nostril. Those long, uncomfortable nasopharyngeal swabs are no longer used in routine testing.

Rapid tests are an important part of testing to prevent spread, particularly since you can spread the virus even if you don’t (or don’t yet) have symptoms. They are imperfect, and it’s important to be aware of their shortcomings. But testing before gatherings and events can still help us keep each other safe: When you test positive, don’t go. Assume it’s a true positive, and self-isolate according to current public health guidance.

These days, rapid tests are easy to come by—pharmacies regularly have plenty of stock of several brands and varieties, and there are even more-accessible tests entering the market that can be used by blind and low-vision people.

But cost can still be an issue. The Biden Administration has been doing two things to help.

1​​. Free rapid tests from USPS—suspended Friday, Sept. 2

The USPS had a website, https://covidtests.gov/ , where you could order a batch of free rapid tests to be delivered to you. You could place up to three orders per address.

The program was suspended Friday, September 2. The government’s purchasing of tests for distribution was funded by Congressional appropriations that haven’t been renewed. Until Congress appropriates more money to renew the program, it will have to end, at least for now.

So if you haven’t ordered yet, or if you’ve been putting off that second or third order, act now, before it’s too late. The door is closing fast.

2​​. Free rapid tests from your health insurance

You can get up to eight free tests per person every month, either directly from your health insurer or reimbursed by them. That’s enough for every person to test twice a week most weeks.

The details will vary by health insurer. If you’re a Kaiser Permanente member, you can order batches of four from them, or pick them up from Kaiser pharmacies. If you have Blue Shield, you can submit a reimbursement form (note that this is separate from their normal healthcare claim form). If you have Aetna, you should be able to use CVS’s test ordering page. If you have another insurer, check their website for details.

Reimbursement is less than ideal, because it means you need to front the money and then get it back. That can take time; some insurers may take up to thirty days to mail you a check. The process can also be tricky; Blue Shield’s form requires you to submit a photo that shows both the UPC barcode on the product box and the receipt.

Even so, this can make a big difference in being able to regularly, preventatively test yourself and your family. This can be especially important if you have kids in school, so you’ll know when it’s time to keep them home so they don’t infect their classmates in the cafeteria.

3. Free lab tests from the City

The City maintains a map of testing sites throughout San Francisco, including City-run testing sites that are free to all City residents, plus other facilities that may require payment or restrict access to members.

These are generally lab tests, which take a day or so to return results. The result is typically texted and/or emailed to you. Lab tests are more specific than rapid tests, so they can be useful for confirming (or disproving) a negative rapid test result.

The map’s contents change regularly, as some testing sites are mobile or pop-ups.

A note about rapid test expiration dates

Rapid test kits have a finite shelf life—there’s an expiration date printed somewhere on the box, usually on the back or bottom side, along with a lot number.

However, you should know that many tests’ shelf lives have been extended, as continued product testing has confirmed that the tests are still usable for longer than was originally determined.

Look up your test’s brand on the FDA’s list. For each brand that has received an extension, there’s a link to a document with lot numbers and updated expiration dates.

When you test positive

The San Francisco Department of Public Health has guidance for what to do if you or someone in your family tests positive.

If you live with family members or with roommates, there is also guidance on how to avoid spreading COVID-19 to others in your home. Setting up better ventilation and air purification—particularly in the infected person’s quarantine room—can help. The virus spreads through the air; if you can clean the air or replace infected air with clean air, you can improve your housemates’ chances of not getting it from you.

It may be appropriate for you to take antiviral or other medication to help fight off the virus. If you take other medications, be aware that there can be interactions; Paxlovid, for example, interacts with a variety of drugs and may require temporarily adjusting dosages or stopping some medications.

If at all possible, take your sick time—rest helps your recovery. If you’re out of sick time but can work from home, do that. If there’s nothing for it and your workplace orders you to come in, make sure you wear a good, well-fitted N95 respirator, and maybe bring an air purifier if you have one and have somewhere to put it.

And do tell others that you’ve tested positive and that you’re staying home to keep them safe. We need to normalize explicitly staying home to keep others from getting the virus from us, and we need to de-normalize going to work or school sick (if we have the option) or going to events while sick as if we care only about our own enjoyment and not others’ health.

When someone you know tests positive

Part of normalizing the practice of telling others you’re positive is that when they tell you that they’re positive, you respond supportively and without judgment.

• Do offer to help, within your capacity. If they live with you, you may become involved in caring for them. If they’re a neighbor, you might be able to deliver groceries or other supplies (including tests or masks), or help them bring in grocery deliveries. If you have a car and can risk driving them, you may be able to offer rides (masked, fan-on-high, windows-down) to the doctor or pharmacy.

• Do take no for an answer if they don’t want or need your help. (This should go without saying, but we’ll say it anyway.)

• Do keep in regular contact with them, with their consent and within their (and your own) boundaries. Self-isolation, as the name implies, can be lonely, and maintaining human contact can help relieve that while they work on defeating the virus.

• Don’t ask how they got it. For one thing, they may not know. Moreover, there’s a risk of implicitly blaming them for having done something wrong to get it. Blame leads to shame leads to secrecy. Encouraging people to be open is a vital part of controlling spread.

• Do thank them for telling you that they’re positive, particularly if you’re hosting an event and they’re canceling their attendance.

• Don’t speculate. Don’t try to guess anything the person didn’t voluntarily tell you.

• Don’t gossip. Their status is nobody else’s business. If they’re expected at an event or something, you can ask them what they want to tell the person who’s asking why they’re not there. Let them decide how much/what to disclose and to whom.

Normalizing these best practices, which keeps people comfortable disclosing their bad news and doing the responsible thing of staying home, is part of how we can help keep each other safe.