Two government-run efforts to distribute free COVID-19 tests and to offer free courses of Pfizer’s Paxlovid antiviral are set to end Friday, as trends of the virus have largely slowed.
The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, or ASPR, will stop accepting orders to ship COVID-19 tests to all households through the U.S. Postal Service, an agency spokesperson confirmed, marking an end to this season’s round of shipments.
“ASPR has delivered over 1.8 billion free COVID-19 tests to the American people through COVIDTests.gov and direct distribution pathways and will continue distributing millions of tests per week to long-term care facilities, food banks, health centers, and schools,” the spokesperson said.
This year’s free COVID-19 tests program is coming to a close earlier than last year. In 2023, orders for tests were accepted through the end of May.