Error Leaves Some People Unable To Order Covid Tests From White House’s New Website

Topline

The Tuesday soft launch of COVIDtests.gov, which offers one free set of four Covid-19 tests by mail per household, was hampered by a bug that prevented some residents of apartment buildings from ordering the much-needed tests.

Key Facts

Orders from some residents of multi-unit dwellings were erroneously rejected by a feature intended to prevent duplicate orders to the same household.

The scale of the problem is “very limited,” only affecting a small percentage of orders, and can be addressed by filling out an online service inquiry, the U.S. Postal Service said.

Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.) said that some people had found a workaround by looking up exactly how their address was listed by USPS.

Twitter users also suggested workarounds like entering apartment numbers under the field designated for street addresses rather than under the field designated for apartment numbers.

Beginning Wednesday, tests will typically ship via USPS seven to 12 days after ordering, the White House said.

Free tests can also be ordered online via USPS or by calling the Vaccines.gov hotline at 1-800-232-0233.

Key Background

COVIDtests.gov went online Tuesday, one day ahead of its official launch date. Until mid-morning Wednesday, the site will function at a “limited capacity,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told the AP. Despite this, as many as 750,000 users were simultaneously using COVIDtests.gov at some points on Tuesday. Legislators and health experts have criticized the Biden Administration for not adequately addressing the limited supply of tests that has led to inventory shortages at Amazon, Walmart and other retailers. In response to the spread of the highly transmissible omicron variant, which has driven up infections and an deaths worldwide, the White House announced mass distribution of free tests and higher-quality masks.

Big Number

1 billion. That’s how many test kits the Biden Administration has ordered. Of those tests, 500 million are currently available for distribution.

Crucial Quote

“Sure, there’s some quirks with apartment addresses, but surely the loudest and most aggressive contingent of people on twitter aren’t living in multi-unit residences in large cities, right?” Buzzfeed reporter Katie Notopoulos quipped on Twitter.

Further Reading

“White House soft-launches COVID-19 test request website” (Associated Press)

“White House To Order 500 Million Additional Covid-19 Tests And Plans To Make Higher-Quality Masks Available” (Forbes)