A March 31st joint announcement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) provided information on a pilot trial on home COVID testing to be conducted in Pitt County, NC and Hamilton County, TN.

Participants will be provided with rapid antigen tests to be used for up to three times per week over a month.  The home tests will be provided free of charge to evaluate the effectiveness of the initiative and to establish whether a self-administered test can reduce community transmission of COVID.

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Director of the CDC stated, "reliable and widely available testing is a critical part of our efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19.  Regular screening with at-home COVID-19 tests can strengthen our prevention efforts".  She added, "combined with efforts to increase vaccination, this important step will help us understand how best to use these at-home tests to reduce viral transmission rates in communities".

Participants will order test kits online for home delivery and a phone app. will be offered. It is hoped that participants in this "Say yes! COVID tests" program will continue to participate in NIH-supported research studies.

The Quick View™ E-test developed by Quidel of San Diego will be supplied under the NIH Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics Initiative.  Dr. Elizabeth DiNenno, Associate Deputy Director for Surveillance, Epidemiology and Laboratory Sciences at the CDC stated, "if self-testing is shown to effectively reduce viral spread in the selected communities, the hope is that it will lead to wider distribution and acceptance of frequent home testing across the country".