Walgreens and Labcorp offering free at-home PCR tests for COVID-19

USA – Walgreens, Labcorp and HHS are offering free, nationwide access to COVID-19 at-home PCR test collection kits through the pharmacy’s website.

Individuals aged 2 and up will be eligible for a free COVID-19 kit if they are experiencing mild COVID-19 symptoms, have been exposed to someone with COVID-19, or have been asked to get tested by a healthcare professional, contact investigator, or public health department, according to a press release.

Individuals can visit Walgreens’ website to request a free Labcorp COVID-19 at-home kit, which will redirect them to Labcorp OnDemand, where they will answer eligibility questions.

Once approved, the kit will be shipped overnight via FedEx with step-by-step instructions for kit registration, sample collection, and sample return.

Completed tests can be dropped off at a Walgreens or a FedEx drop off location using the provided pre-paid FedEx Priority Overnight bag.

After the lab receives the specimen, the results will be available through the Labcorp OnDemand portal within one to two days.

The Labcorp COVID-19 at-home collection kit employs the same PCR test on which doctors and hospitals throughout the country rely.

PCR testing is the gold standard for diagnosing COVID-19, and it detects all current virus variants.

According to the press release, the free offering aims to provide more communities with access to dependable and convenient testing services.

“Through our continued partnership with Labcorp and HHS, communities will have better access to convenient COVID-19 PCR testing. This is particularly important for uninsured, socially vulnerable and medically underserved populations, who continue to be among those most impacted by COVID,” Walgreens president John Standley said in that release.

Walgreens provides free drive-thru testing for all ages 3 and up at over 7,000 locations nationwide, with more than half of Walgreens COVID-19 testing locations located in socially vulnerable areas.

Over-the-counter at-home rapid antigen tests are also available online and in a variety of pharmacy stores.

The federal government provides free tests, as does a pilot project in Maine aimed at increasing test access.

Walgreens customers should ask their pharmacist if their plan covers over-the-counter tests with no out-of-pocket costs for reimbursement.

In 2020, Labcorp became the first commercial laboratory in the United States to begin COVID-19 PCR testing, and less than two weeks later, it became the first to receive US Food and Drug Administration Emergency Use Authorization for its test.

Labcorp launched at-home collection kits for COVID-19 PCR testing in April 2020, and they are now available through its Labcorp OnDemand platform.

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