COVID-19 testing

Hotline for Free COVID Tests Launches Friday, Complementing Federal Website

The White House said it will prioritize orders from communities that have been hit hardest by the pandemic

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The Biden administration is launching a phone line Friday for people to order free COVID-19 tests, a senior White House policy adviser said, expanding availability to people who may not have internet access.

The hotline is scheduled to go live at 8 a.m. ET, and households can call 800-232-0233 to request up to four free tests. It will complement the federally run COVIDtests.gov website, which launched Tuesday and is meant to provide better access to testing for communities that have had higher coronavirus infection rates than the rest of the country.

“We’ve just seen the disproportionate impact on certain communities,” Dr. Cameron Webb, who advises President Joe Biden’s COVID response team on equity, said in an interview. “The harder-hit communities have borne the brunt and most difficult aspects of this pandemic.”

The phone line will offer services in English, Spanish and 150 other languages. Orders can be placed from 8 a.m. to midnight seven days a week.

Read the full story on NBCNews.com here. 

Rochelle Walensky, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, explains when people should get tested for COVID-19.
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