**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**

September 20, 2021

Say Yes! COVID Test Program Offers Free, Rapid, Self-Administered Tests to Fulton Residents in target ZIP Codes to Reduce COVID-19 Spread

 

Residents in target ZIP codes can order their free COVID-19 test kits while supplies last at CovidTestFultonCounty.org

 

Fulton County, Georgia – The Fulton County Board of Health is inviting residents in target zip codes to join the Say Yes! COVID Test At-Home Testing Challenge, which provides households with access to free, rapid COVID-19 test kits that they can self-administer. Say Yes! COVID Test encourages residents to use the tests twice a week, regardless of symptoms, to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and keep the community healthy.  

 

Fulton County residents in the identified ZIP Codes can order testing kits online for home delivery. Test kits will also be available for pick up from the Fulton County Board of Health clinics and at partner locations. 

 

The target zip codes are 30291, 30213, 30268, 30303, 30308, 30311, 30310, 30314, 30312, 30315, 30318, 30331, 30336, 30344, 30354, 30337, 30349, 30363.  These zip codes were identified based on high rates of COVID-19, lower than average rates of vaccination, and concentration of essential workers.

 

“Children, adolescents, and adults who are not yet fully vaccinated or at high risk need more accessible tools to inform their choices. Free, rapid, self-administered testing will give community members one more way to help reduce the spread of COVID-19,” said Lynn Paxton, MD, MPH, District Health Director with the Fulton County Board of Health. “Anyone can just swab the front of their nose and perform this test in the privacy of their home and have results within 10 minutes.”  

 

The Say Yes! COVID Test initiative is a cooperative effort from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), community partners, test manufacturer Quidel, and healthcare technology company CareEvolution. State and local health departments like the Fulton County Board of Health and others help connect the initiative to local community members. Researchers at NIH-supported academic health centers will work with CDC and NIH to use publicly available data to determine if the local testing efforts slowed the spread of COVID-19.

 

Rapid, self-administered testing has potential to disrupt the spread of COVID-19 that occurs when people are infected, but don’t yet have symptoms. Testing twice a week offers the best chance of identifying COVID-19 infection and isolating early. The COVID-19 tests are authorized for use by the FDA, provided free of charge, and the entire testing process can be managed privately at home. Tests require a quick swab inside each nostril, and results can be read in just 10 minutes. A free, private, and easy-to-use mobile application is available to help individuals in every step of test taking. The maker of the tests, Quidel, is the same company that made the first rapid flu tests used by doctors’ offices in the United States.  

 

Each test kit supports home testing twice a week for two household members. Individuals who have not yet received the COVID-19 vaccine or who have the highest risk of exposure to COVID-19, such as people working or going to school outside the home, are ideal candidates for participation, but anyone over the age of 2 is welcome to participate. The testing challenge lasts for at least a month, or until all tests are used. Test users who choose to use the companion digital assistant to record and share their test results and complete a survey can earn up to $35 in gift cards. 

 

Fulton County residents can log on to www.CovidTestFultonCounty.org to learn more about the program and to order test kits for doorstep delivery. Test kits will also be available for pickup locally at the following locations:  

●       Fulton County Board of Health, 10 Park Place, Atlanta, GA 30303

●       Adamsville Regional Health Center, 3700 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, Atlanta

●       College Park Regional Health Center, 1920 John Wesley Avenue, College Park

●       Neighborhood Union Health Center, 404-612-4665

 

For updates, follow the Fulton County Board of Health on social media @FultonHealth

 

Media Contacts

 

CareEvolution: Vik Kheterpal, MD, [email protected] 

National Institutes of Health (NIH): Raymond MacDougall, [email protected] 

Fulton County Board of Health, Jessica Corbitt-Dominguez, [email protected]