The CDC Will Be Handing Out Free At-Home COVID Tests at Airports
This new program has only hit select airports.
If you're touching down in the US anytime soon, you may be handed a free COVID-19 at-home testing kit depending on which airport you arrive at.
According to USA Today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) started handing out free at-home COVID-19 testing kits at select airports earlier this week.
"This initiative will quickly increase access to post-arrival COVID-19 testing for international travelers arriving in the United States," CDC spokesperson Caitlin Shockey said in an emailed statement to USA Today. "It is critical that travelers get tested three to five days after travel to help identify imported cases of COVID-19 and stop the spread of the virus."
So far, test kits have been handed out at Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Miami International Airport, Minneapolis−Saint Paul International Airport, and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Although the CDC did not say how many kits were available through this program, the organization plans to hand out "as many of these free test kits as possible" as well as at more airports.
The free tests are meant to help more travelers comply with the December 9 CDC travel guidance that encourages, but does not mandate, that international air travelers get tested upon arriving in the United States. Unless they have recovered from the virus in the past 90 days, testing upon arrival in the US is, however, a requirement for unvaccinated travelers who are not US citizens or immigrants.