Can You Buy An At-Home COVID Test? [UPDATED]

UPDATE: In the hours after this article was posted, the FDA issued an emergency authorization of Ellume’s OTC COVID test. This marks the FDA’s first approval of an over-the-counter coronavirus diagnostic test.

The short answer is no. Although articles have begun to pop up indicating that at-home COVID-19 testing kits are on the way, the odds that you can actually get one any time soon are slim to none.

A handful of companies are developing testing kits to be used at home, but the one that seems closest to hitting the market is made by Lucira Health. Lucira’s test would allow concerned individuals to take their own nasal swabs and then give positive or negative results in under an hour. This equipment has been authorized by the FDA, which is a good start, but as Lucira’s website puts it, “we hope to have our product available in the next few months.”

Even when Lucira’s test does go on sale, you won’t be able to just go to lucirahealth.com and place an order. On the contrary, you will need a doctor’s prescription. If you have to go to a physician’s office anyway to exhibit symptoms, then what is the point?

As far as things you can buy right now to determine a potential COVID diagnosis, Amazon does offer a SARS CoV-2 specimen collection kit. You can theoretically collect a sample in this kit and send it away for analysis, although you should probably determine where you can send it first.

SARS-CoV-2 Specimen Collection Kit w/Nasal Swab & Tube, Sterile, 50 Kits/Unit — $127

Honestly at this point your best “home testing kit” is an infrared thermometer:

iMounTEK Digital Infrared Non-Contact Forehead Thermometer — $29.99

If you run a fever, and show other symptoms such as chest pain or loss of smell, then it is a good bet you have COVID-19. This should be enough information for you, unless you need to present a positive test as proof in order to work or travel. In that case, then you will just have to go to the doctor’s office, hospital, or drive-through clinic like everyone else.