Do you enjoy getting tested for COVID-19 but wish you could do it in the comfort of your own home (with a licensed health care professional supervising over a Zoom call)? Now you can, thanks to an at-home COVID-19 collection kit!
Yes, an at-home COVID-19 collection kit is now available, for free, for all Wisconsinites. Thanks to Vault Medical Services, all you have to do is request a kit, wait until it arrives, collect a sample of your saliva with the aforementioned licensed health care professional supervising over a Zoom call, drop off the completed kit at a UPS drop-off location the same day (shipping is pre-paid), and wait 24 to 48 hours after the same arrives for the results. What a wild a terrifying time we live in!
Vault says its test is the “first FDA EUA authorized saliva test.” Request a kit and find more information HERE. Here’s a summary of the process, from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services:
The State of Wisconsin and Vault Medical Services have teamed up to offer a new COVID-19 testing option for everyone who lives in Wisconsin, with or without symptoms, at no cost. This new service allows people to collect their own saliva samples for testing in their home. The capacity is expected to expand over time.
Step One: Request an at-home collection kit
Request an at-home collection kit using the button below. A collection kit will be delivered directly to your home; PO boxes are not eligible to have kits delivered.
Step Two: Collect your sample
Once you receive your collection kit, you must collect the sample in the presence of a licensed health care professional over a virtual Zoom call (Download Zoom). Once you have downloaded Zoom and are ready to produce a saliva sample, you may join a virtual waiting room.
Step Three: Send in your sample
After you have collected your saliva sample, you will need to drop off your collection kit at a UPS drop-off location(link is external) on the same day as the collection.
And here’s a press release:
Gov. Evers, DHS Announce Wisconsin to Offer At-Home COVID-19 Testing Option
MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers, together with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (OHS), today announced a new contract with Vault Medical Services that will add an additional tool to the Wisconsin COVID-19 testing toolbox starting today. At-home COVID-19 saliva collection kits will be available to everyone who lives in Wisconsin, with or without symptoms, at no cost.
“We believe that anyone in Wisconsin who needs to be tested for COVID-19 should have access to a test, and I’m proud of our statewide testing efforts throughout this pandemic,” said Gov. Evers. “We also know that getting to a health care provider or a community testing site isn’t easy for everyone, and that’s why we are excited to offer this new option to make testing even more accessible for folks across our state.”
Wisconsinites can order a collection kit online and have it shipped to their home. The kit will include detailed instructions on how to collect the saliva, which includes a video call with a testing supervisor through Vault Medical Services, and ship it back via UPS dropbox to the lab for processing.
“This is an important tool to provide easy access to COVID-19 testing,” said DHS Secretary-designee Andrea Palm. “As we roll out the COVID-19 vaccine to more Wisconsinites, we need to continue testing, contact tracing, and public health measures such as wearing a mask and social distancing.”
A saliva test is similar to a nasal swab test you might receive from a provider or at a community testing site. Like a nasal swab test, a saliva test determines whether you have an active COVID-19 infection and can spread it to others.
More information can be found on the Wisconsin COVID-19 testing webpage.
For up-to-date information about Wisconsin’s COVID-19 response, visit the DHS COVID-19 webpage. We encourage you to follow @DHSWI on Facebook, Twitter, or dhs.wi on Instagram for more information on COVID-19.
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