Residents can order COVID-19 test kits online while supplies last: www.SayYesCovidHomeTest.org
LONGVIEW, Washington — Starting today, a new program to Cowlitz County called Say Yes! COVID Test is making COVID-19 test kits available to residents online for free home delivery while supplies last. By visiting www.SayYesCovidHomeTest.org, households can order four test kits for a total of eight rapid tests they can self-administer.
“Children, adolescents, and adults who are not yet fully vaccinated or who are at high risk need more accessible tools to inform their choices,” said Dr. Steven Krager, deputy health officer for Cowlitz County. “Free, rapid, self-administered testing will give community members one more way to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.”
The Say Yes! COVID Test program is a cooperative effort from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), community partners, test manufacturer Quidel, and healthcare technology company CareEvolution.
State and local health departments help connect the program to community members. Researchers at NIH-supported academic health centers will work with CDC and NIH to use publicly available data to determine if the local testing efforts slowed the spread of COVID-19.
Rapid, self-administered testing has the potential to disrupt the spread of COVID-19 that occurs when people are infected, but don’t yet have symptoms. Testing on a routine basis offers the best chance of identifying COVID-19 infection and isolating early.
The COVID-19 tests are authorized for use by the FDA, provided free of charge, and the entire testing process can be managed privately at home. Tests require a quick swab inside each nostril, and results can be read in 10 minutes.
A mobile application can be accessed on www.SayYesCovidHomeTest.org to help residents through the test taking process. The maker of the tests, Quidel, is the same company that made the first rapid flu tests used by doctors’ offices in the U.S.
Residents who have not yet received the COVID-19 vaccine or who have the highest risk of exposure to COVID-19, such as people working or going to school outside the home, are ideal candidates for the program, but anyone over the age of 2 is welcome to participate.
If you have questions about Say Yes! COVID Test, visit www.SayYesCovidHomeTest.org. Media can contact NIH representative Raymond MacDougall, raymond.macdougall@nih.gov, or CareEvolution representative Vik Kheterpal, MD, vik.kheterpal@careevolution.com.
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Contact:
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Stefanie Donahue
Communications Manager
(360) 414-5599, ext. 6451
donahues@co.cowlitz.wa.us
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Release #: 21-034
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