āāāāāāāāāTesting can help you know if you have COVID-19 so you can decide what to do next. You may want to get
treatmentā to reduce your risk of severe illness and take
precautionsā to lower your chances of spreading the virus to others.
Testing and other preventative measures are especially helpful when: ā
Test at hoāāmeāāā
āPlan ahead to have COVID-19 tests on hand before you get sick. You can test yourself at home and get results in fewer than 30 minutes. Read more about at-home tests:
Get test āākits
Free test kits if you haāāve Medi-Cal
Get Medi-Cal card(s) for each person in your family. Each person with a Medi-Cal card can receive up to 8 free tests each month. ā
- Go to the pharmacy coāunter where prescriptions are dropped off.āÆOther registers in the store cannot provide free COVID-19 tests.
- āShow your Medi-Cal card(s)āÆand ask for 8 at-home COVID-19 antigen tests for each person.
Read more:
Three Easy Steps To Get Free COVID-19 Antigen Tests(PDF)
Translations:
Spanish (PDF),
Arabic (PDF),
Armenian (PDF),
Chinese Simplified (PDF),
Chinese Traditional (PDF),
Hmong (PDF),
Khmer (PDF),
Korean (PDF),
Punjabi (PDF),
Russian (PDF),
Tagalog (PDF),
Thai (PDF),
Vietnamese (PDF)
Test kits for those with privāāate āāinsurance, Medicare or Medicare Advantage
Most California insurance plans will pay or reimburse for 8 at-home test kits per month. Details are different for each plan; contact your provider for more information. Find out more at COVID-19 Coverage Changes (PDF)ā.āā
Before you throw out āāāexpired" tests
- Most at-home tests can be safely used past the date on the box. Check the test kit to see if the expiration dates have been extended on the FDA's
At-Home COVID-19 Test page.
- Replace your tests with fresh ones as the extended expiration dates approach. If you have to, you can use expired tests until you can get new ones, as long as the control line is working. See your test instructions for details about the control line.
Find test sites neaār you
Use these links to find testing sites near you:
Are you aware of your ārisk of severe illness?
āTesting is an option if you were exposed or have symptoms of COVID-19ā. If you are at higher risk, then testing is recommended so you can get treatment.ā
Risk factors for common respiratory viruāses including COVID-19
āAnyone who belongs to one of the groups below is considered higher risk of infection or severe respiratory illness:
āOlder adults (over 50, and risk increases with increasing age)
Young children
People with weakened immune systems
People with disabilities
Pregnant or recently pregnant people
People with health conditions such as chronic lung disease (like asthma), heart disease, or obesity. Risk increases as the number of health conditions increases.
People living in a group or congregate care setting, such as a skilled nursing facility. Other high-risk settings are adult and senior care facilities, homeless shelters, emergency shelters (including cooling and heating centers), state and local correctional facilities and detention centers.
For additional information, see the CDC page regarding People with Certain Medical Conditionsā at higher risk for severe COVID-19.ā
If you visit a high-risk setting or āāpeople at higher-risk
Consider testing and masking before entering settings where persons at higher risk of severe disease are more likely to be present or in other settings when you are around people at higher risk of severe COVID-19 (for example, in skilled nursing facilities).
For more information
āFor more information on when to test, or what to do if you test positive, please visit the CDC page on COVID-19.āā