Gov Offers Free At-Home COVID Tests as ‘Tripledemic’ Looms

Updated September 26, 2023, 12:30 p.m. EST

• The U.S. is providing free, at-home rapid COVID tests again. All households can order four tests to be mailed to them at covid.gov/tests.
• These tests should remain good to use through the end of the year. Some dates on the tests may show they have expired, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration extended the dates.
• The CDC recommends people test if they have COVID-related symptoms, including a sore throat, runny nose, loss of smell or taste, and a fever. 

Updated September 18, 2023, 12:30 p.m. EST

• Doctors are warning of another tripledemic this fall and winter, as COVID, the flu, and RSV are circulating simultaneously. Health experts are urging the public to take preventative measures like getting the new COVID-19 booster, RSV vaccines for specific groups, and flu shots. 
• Nirav Shah, principal director of the CDC, is encouraging people to utilize these vaccines and other tools at hand so we can "turn the tables on all three of those respiratory infectious diseases."

Updated September 13, 2023, 12:15 p.m. EST

• The CDC has recommended that everyone ages six months and up get the new COVID booster. Vaccines should be available starting this week.
• The booster will kick in about two weeks after you get it and will likely offer protection for a few months. Like the previous ones, this shot will lower your chances of getting COVID and make you more likely to come down with a mild case if you test positive. 
• Click here to find out where to get the COVID booster near you.

Updated September 11, 2023, 3:00 p.m. EST

• The FDA approved a new round of COVID boosters by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna to be shipped nationwide within days. 
• Federal officials are moving towards campaigning the shots as annual immunization, similar to the flu vaccine. The move addresses the fatigue many Americans feel about topics revolving around COVID.
• The CDC is expected to meet on Tuesday to discuss who should get the new shots. After the CDC's sign-off, the Biden administration plans to encourage the public to get their COVID and flu shots simultaneously to be fully prepared for the typical influx of cases during the cold weather. 

What’s the story?

• Health officials are warning the public of a rise in COVID-19 cases as fall approaches. 
• While individual cases are becoming tricky to track — as states are no longer required to report numbers — hospitalizations and deaths are rising nationwide. Labs have also reported wastewater samples testing positive for the disease. 

The numbers

• COVID hospitalizations have continued to rise after an all-time low in June, with 5,630 cases on a 7-day average. The week of Aug. 26, the 7-day average reached 17,400, a nearly 16% increase from the week before. 
• The week of Aug. 19 saw a 2.3% increase in emergency room visits with a COVID diagnosis, up from just 0.5% in July.
• As individual testing is down, experts are focusing on wastewater samples. Marlene Wolfe, an assistant professor at Emory University and program director for WastewaterSCAN, said:

“The wastewater is giving us a pretty clear picture that there has been, you know, quite an uptick in cases in these communities that we’re monitoring recently. We are in a period of higher levels of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater right now, and that’s associated with an increase in the number of cases in the community.”

• Jodie Guest, a professor of epidemiology at Emory University, also pointed to the increase in at-home test sales that showcase a rise in cases. 

“We also see Covid tests being absent on their shelves in Walgreens and CVS and other places as well, because people have more transmission right now.”

New variant

• In mid-August, the World Health Organization announced a new variant called BA.2.867, unofficially dubbed Pirola. 
• The new variant shows 30 mutations, a high number similar to Omicron, making it particularly transmissible. These stubborn variants are often less resistant to vaccines. 
• Experts say that Pirola’s many mutations may signify a weaker variant, not a stronger one. Health officials noted that Pirola doesn’t often lead to an extreme illness, meaning hospitalizations will likely not skyrocket as they have in the past. Shira Doron, an infectious disease doctor and epidemiologist at Tufts Medical Center, said:

“The good news is, we’re still doing enough sequencing to be detecting new variants before they are widespread. It is not a foregone conclusion that simply by having 30-plus mutations.”

Moving forward 

• The next COVID booster is expected to be available in the U.S. as soon as Sept. 13. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is meeting on Sept. 12 to discuss who will be eligible for the booster. 
• So far, the data shows that the booster will protect against severe illness and death for all circulating variants. 
• Experts are continuing with the same advice: mask, stay home when you’re sick, get tested if you’re exposed or symptomatic, and stay up to date on vaccines. Guest said:

“If you’re in a crowded situation, recognizing the odds are that someone in that room probably does have Covid-19 at this point in time and so masking is a great way to protect yourself and to protect others that you’re going to be around later.”

Will you get the next booster shot?

-Jamie Epstein

(Photo credit: iStock/AzmanL)