Free at-home Covid-19 testing now available for seniors and immunocompromised New Yorkers
Mayor Bill de Blasio is tested for COVID-19.June 16, 2020. Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr
New York City is expanding its at-home coronavirus testing program. The city’s Health Department on Tuesday announced the free service will now be available to all immunocompromised New Yorkers and those aged 65 and older. In March, the at-home appointments first became available for those who had close contact with someone diagnosed with the virus. The expansion comes as the city sees an increase in new Covid-19 cases, and with it, the demand for testing.
The city’s Test & Trace Corps started testing New Yorkers at home in neighborhoods with high rates of Covid-19 and who had a close contact test positive. According to the health department, the at-home testing program, which has since expanded to all neighborhoods, has administered over 25,000 tests to 11,000 households, with a positivity rate among close contacts of 14 percent.
“Providing at-home testing to New York City’s seniors and those with weakened immune systems who are most at risk of developing severe illness from COVID-19 will ensure these New Yorkers have a convenient testing arrangement to protect themselves and their loved ones,” Dr. Ted Long, executive director of the NYC Test & Trace Corps, said in a press release.
“At-home testing provides people peace of mind without risk of exposure and connects them to the resources they need to be treated and stop the spread.”
Appointments for at-home testing are available seven days per week from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Schedule one by calling 929-298-9400. The city will then send a clinical professional to your home to administer the test.
The city also offers in-home vaccinations to all New Yorkers aged 12 and older. When the program launched last March, door-to-door vaccinations were available to homebound seniors only. Children under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult.
Even those who received a first vaccine dose through a different program can still receive their second dose at home. Fill out this request form to receive an in-home vaccination.
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