Update: Get free COVID test kit delivered to your Tri-Cities home. Results in 10 minutes
Tri-Cities area residents can test themselves for COVID-19 at home with free rapid-test kits available while supplies obtained by the Benton Franklin Health District last.
Each household will receive eight tests per order, with one order allowed per household, the health district said Thursday, correcting information it released on Wednesday.
“They are very easy to use,” said Heather Hill, infectious disease supervisor for the Benton Franklin Health District, speaking on the Kadlec on Call podcast Wednesday.
She recommends using them before attending holiday gatherings — whether Thanksgiving, Christmas, Kwanza or Hannukah — to make sure that those attending are not infected with the coronavirus.
People who are not vaccinated against COVID or have the highest risk for exposure because they are working or going to school outside the home are encouraged to get the free tests, but anyone over the age of 2 is welcome to use a test, according to the Tri-Cities, Wash., based health district.
“Anyone can just swab the front of their nose and perform this test in the privacy of their home and have results within 10 minutes,” said Dr. Amy Person, health officer for Benton and Franklin counties.
The nose swab is put into a tube of liquid at home and swirled around. Then a test strip can be dipped into the liquid for results, Hill said.
Those who choose to report their test results digitally and complete a survey can earn up to $35 in gift cards.
The free test kits can be ordered for home delivery at SayYesCovidHomeTest.org. Those without internet access can call the Benton Franklin Health District at 509-460-4200 and arrange to pick up test kits.
The free home tests are manufactured by Quidel, the company that made the first rapid flu tests used by doctors’ offices in the United States. Its rapid home COVID-19 tests are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
They also are available from drug stores for about $25 for two tests.
Researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health will work with that organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to use publicly available data to determine if local home testing efforts slow the spread of COVID-19.
Rapid home tests have the potential to disrupt the spread of COVID-19 by people who are infected, but don’t yet have symptoms, according to the Benton Franklin Health District.
It says testing on a routine basis offers the best chance to detect infections and allow people to isolate early.
This story was originally published November 18, 2021 at 5:00 AM.