Here’s where to get free at-home, rapid COVID-19 tests Whatcom County is distributing
Free COVID-19 rapid tests are being distributed at select fire stations, community food banks and libraries around Whatcom County.
The tests are available through a federal program providing tests through community health centers, according to a Whatcom County Health Department news release Thursday, Jan. 27, which said the tests are available for residents to pick up at:
▪ Bellingham Fire Department Station 1 (1800 Broadway) from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. There is a limit of two test kits per family.
▪ Some other Whatcom County fire stations will have tests available. Residents are asked to contact individual stations to confirm they have test kits.
▪ Community food banks, though residents are asked to contact individual locations to confirm availability.
▪ Whatcom County Library System locations also have been distributing test kits. Quantities are limited to five per family, and residents are asked to contact their local library branches to confirm availability (wcls.org/info). Tests are not available through Bellingham Public Library locations.
Quantities of the tests are limited and availability is not guaranteed, according to the release.
The tests became available after the city of Bellingham received 16,200 tests this week on behalf of Unity Care NW, which didn’t have the storage capacity for the large number of tests, according to the release.
Unity Care NW, which is a federally qualified community health center, is eligible to receive free at-home, FDA-authorized COVID-19 testing supplies as part of the Biden Administration’s Path Out of the Pandemic COVID-19 Action Plan, the release stated. When the national supply permits, Unity Care NW is able to order test kits to share with the community.
Unity Care NW hopes to receive more tests by the end of February, according to the release.
Whatcom County residents also can order free at-home tests through the federal government online at covidtests.gov or by calling 1-800-232-0233.
Positive test results from at-home tests can be reported to the county health department at https://bit.ly/3riktmf.
This story was originally published January 27, 2022 at 11:01 AM.
