(CNN) – The U.S. government plans to offer more free at-home Covid-19 tests this month as the country heads into respiratory virus season with high levels of the coronavirus already circulating.
Each household will be able to request another round of four free home test kits starting in late September at COVIDTests.gov.
More than 900 million test kits have been delivered directly to U.S. residents through the COVIDTests.gov program, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
“Covid-19 testing can help you find out if you have COVID-19 so you can decide what to do next, such as getting treatment to reduce your risk of severe illness and taking steps to reduce your chances of spreading the virus to others,” the agency said.
This next set of tests, the seventh round of distribution under the program, will be able to detect currently circulating variants and can be used as people prepare for holiday gatherings.
“The best plan for this winter is for all of us to stay vigilant, to use the tools we have: vaccines, testing, treatment for the diseases responsible for most of the deaths and hospitalizations this fall and winter,” Dr. Mandy Cohen, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Friday.
The CDC also recommends that everyone 6 months and older get an up-to-date COVID-19 vaccine this season to stay current.
This year, there are multiple options available; the mRNA vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer were updated to target KP.2, one of the so-called FLiRT variants that have been dominant in the U.S. since May. Those vaccines are for people 6 months and older. A second dose is also available. Novavax’s more traditional protein vaccinebut it targets JN.1, a variant that is still circulating but less prominently than a few months ago. The Novavax vaccine is approved only for people 12 years of age and older.
Updated COVID-19 vaccines are now available at pharmacies across the United States and can be received at the same time as the annual flu shot.
CNN’s Brenda Goodman contributed to this report.
