WASHINGTON (AP) – Americans can order COVID-19 again Testingsent directly to your home at no cost to you.

The US government reopened The program launched Thursday and allows each household to order up to four at-home COVID nasal swab kits through the covidtests.gov website. The tests will begin shipping via the United States Postal Service as early as next week.

The site reopened shortly after a COVID-19 virus surge in the summer and ahead of the fall and winter respiratory virus season, with health authorities urgent Americans receive a current COVID-19 booster shot and their annual flu shot.

“Before you visit your family and friends this holiday season, get a rapid test and help protect them from COVID-19,” Dawn O’Connell, assistant secretary for preparedness and response at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said in a statement.

US regulators approved an updated COVID-19 vaccine designed to combat recent strains of the virus and, they hope, upcoming winter strains as well. But vaccine willingness is waning. Most Americans have some immunity from previous infections or vaccinations, but less than a quarter of American adults received the COVID-19 vaccine last fall.

The swab allows people to detect current virus strains ahead of the fall and winter respiratory virus seasons and the holidays. Over-the-counter COVID-19 home tests typically cost about $11. Status last yearIt is no longer necessary for health insurance companies to cover the costs of the tests.

Before using an existing COVID-19 home test, you should check the expiration date. Many of the tests have an extended expiration date from the date printed on the packaging. You can check on the Food and Drug Administration website website to see if this is also the case with your remaining tests at home.

Since COVID-19 first began spreading in 2020, U.S. taxpayers have poured billions of dollars into developing and purchasing COVID-19 tests and vaccines. The Biden administration has distributed 1.8 billion COVID-19 tests, half of which have been distributed to households by mail. It’s unclear how many tests the government still has in stock.