Press Release

Colorado transitions its groundbreaking Rapid-at-Home testing program to federal program

March 15 marks last day to order tests from the state for home delivery 

STATEWIDE (March 10, 2022) —  The State of Colorado will transition its Rapid At-Home testing direct ship program to the Biden administration’s free at-home test program effective March 15, 2022 at 11:59 p.m. (MT) Colorado’s Rapid At-Home testing program was the first in the nation and served as a model for the Biden administration as it developed its national program. The program has distributed more than 2.5 million rapid antigen tests to Colorado residents since it began in September 2021. The announcement comes as the federal program has made free tests available for order nationwide. 

“We are proud of this groundbreaking program and to have been able to get millions of  tests into the hands of Coloradans in the comfort of their own homes,” said Scott Bookman, COVID-19 Incident Commander. “Now that the federal program is making home delivery of rapid tests available, CDPHE will pivot these resources into Colorado’s Roadmap Moving Forward. We will continue to focus our efforts on expanding outreach to at risk populations through working with local public health agencies, our local community partners, and community-based organizations to distribute tests into the community.”

If you are in need of additional rapid COVID-19 OTC tests from CDPHE, place your order before March 15 at 11:59 p.m. (MT) Amazon will ship all orders placed before the deadline within 3 - 5 business days. A total of eight tests are available per order and are packaged two tests per box. On January 19, the Biden administration began it’s program making every home in the United States  eligible to order two sets of four free at-⁠home tests through its website or by calling 1-800-232-0233.

On March 16, 2022, the web link https://covidathometesting.colorado.gov/ will automatically redirect users to https://www.covidtests.gov/ to order free tests from the federal government. 

Anyone who develops symptoms, regardless of vaccination status, should get tested immediately and isolate. Individuals who have symptoms but test negative with a rapid test should follow up with a PCR test. Positive rapid result tests do not need to be confirmed but we encourage Coloradans to report their positive rapid at-home test results through our online portal. 

Continue to stay up to date by visiting covid19.colorado.gov.