New program offers at-home virus tests

DAVENPORT--A new program providing households with access to free, self-administering and rapid COVID-19 test kits is now available in Lincoln County. The program, titled “Say Yes! COVID Test” encourages residents to use the tests to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Lincoln County residents can order testing kits online for free home delivery.

“Children, adolescents, and adults who are not yet fully vaccinated or at high risk need more accessible tools to inform their choices. Free, rapid, self-administered testing will give community members one more way to help reduce the spread of COVID-19,” said Ed Dzedzy, Public Health Director with the Lincoln County Health Department. “Anyone can just swab the front of their nose and perform this test in the privacy of their home and have results within 10 minutes.”

The initiative 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 initiative to local 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 potential to disrupt the spread of COVID-19 that occurs when people are infected, but don’t yet have symptoms. 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. The maker of the tests, Quidel, is the same company that made the first rapid flu tests used by doctors’ offices in the United States.

Anyone over the age of 2 can participate. The testing challenge lasts for at least a month, or until all tests are used. Test users who choose to use the companion digital assistant to record and share their test results and complete a survey can earn up to $35 in gift cards.

Lincoln County residents can order test kits online for doorstep delivery. Test kits will also soon be available for pickup locally at the county Health Department.