How to Get Free Covid Tests in NYC – The New York Times

Advertisement
Supported by
Officials have closed many brick-and-mortar testing sites and are instead focused on increasing access to Covid-19 treatments.
Send any friend a story
As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Anyone can read what you share.
By Lola Fadulu
New York City officials have closed many brick-and-mortar coronavirus testing sites, in a sign that the city is moving into a new phase of the coronavirus pandemic: learning to live with the virus.
The city is instead boosting access to Paxlovid, an antiviral treatment, via mobile testing sites parked outside pharmacies.
“New York City may have been at the epicenter of the pandemic at the start, but now we are leading the way in prevention and mitigation,” said Mayor Eric Adams in June, as the city unveiled the nation’s first mobile testing sites that offer Covid medications.
Recorded coronavirus cases in New York City have risen 24 percent in the past two weeks, according to a New York Times tracker, though experts believe the true number to be much higher since most people are testing at home.
The increase is driven largely by BA.5, a subvariant of the Omicron strain, and a loosening of pandemic restrictions. Mr. Adams also quietly ended the city’s color-coded Covid alert system despite the rise in cases.
Here’s what you need to know about getting tested in New York City. You can search for testing sites near you here.
New York City Health and Hospitals, which runs the city’s public hospitals, offers free walk-in PCR and rapid antigen testing at a number of sites across all five boroughs; no appointment is needed. You can find a list of those sites, along with information about the tests offered, on the health system’s website. You can also see the wait times at the sites using the health system’s online dashboard.
The New York City Department of Health also offers free express testing; these sites offer PCR testing and results are ready within 24 hours. Testing is available by appointment only, and appointments can be scheduled online. The website also includes information on how to view your results on MyChart.
New Yorkers who are immunocompromised or over 65 years old can request free at-home testing by calling 929-298-9400 between the hours of 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. seven days a week.
You can request free at-home rapid antigen tests from the federal government by mail by visiting COVIDtests.gov. You can also pick up free testing kits from a number of libraries and cultural institutions across the five boroughs.
A federal fund to pay the medical bills of uninsured Covid patients was established in 2020. The program also made it possible for laboratories to perform 500,000 tests a month free of charge to uninsured people, according to the American Clinical Laboratory Association.
Senators struck a $10 billion deal in April on emergency aid for testing, vaccines and therapeutics, but it stalled amid an election-year dispute over immigration policy.
Mayor Eric Adams and health officials announced on April 1 that the city wouldn’t let the delay in Washington prevent the city from providing free testing and vaccination services through New York City Health and Hospitals.
“We believe that health care is a human right, and we serve every New Yorker regardless of their ability to pay or their immigration status,” said Dr. Mitchell Katz, the hospitals’ president and chief executive.
A number of other providers offer testing across the city. The city’s website includes a list of them, including ones that aren’t part of the city’s health system. The state health department also lists testing sites on its website.
But if you are getting tested at a site that is not run by the city or state, it is best to ask ahead of time whether you will be charged. It is also a good idea to check with your insurer about whether there will be any fees involved for testing.
New York State officials have run a number of mass testing sites, including in New York City, throughout the pandemic, but they scaled down many of them as the winter Omicron surge waned. The state has the capacity to reopen the sites if needed.
City officials have suggested that all New Yorkers get tested, including those who do not have Covid-19 symptoms or are at increased risk of developing serious illness from the virus.
Some testing sites do, however, have age requirements. For example, many of the mobile testing sites run by N.Y.C. Health and Hospitals only test people over age 4. And the at-home kits are for people over age 2.
And sites that aren’t run by the city or state may have other restrictions for testing, such as requiring recent exposure to the virus, so it is best to ask ahead of time.
Policies at the various private testing tents on sidewalks throughout the city vary widely, so check before you swab.
Sharon Otterman and Emily Cochrane contributed reporting.
Advertisement

source