COVID Test Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Offers Free, Rapid COVID-19 Tests to Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti Residents

The Say Yes! COVID Test At-Home Testing Challenge provides households with access to free, rapid COVID-19 test kits and is now available in Washtenaw County. Say Yes! COVID Test encourages unvaccinated residents to use the tests twice a week, regardless of symptoms, to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and keep the community healthy.

Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti residents can order testing kits online at covidTestAAYpsi.org for home delivery. Test kits will also be available for pick up from the Washtenaw County Health Department and at Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti community vaccination locations.

The Say Yes! COVID Test At-Home Testing Challenge is recommended for unvaccinated individuals 8 years and up. Choose up to two members of your household to take part and test them two times a week for a month or until all tests are used. Individuals with the highest risk of exposure to the COVID-19 are the best choice.

“Children, adolescents, and adults who are not yet fully vaccinated need more accessible tests 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 Juan Luis Marquez, MD, MPH, medical director with the Washtenaw County Health Department. “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 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 8 is welcome to participate. The testing challenge lasts for at least a month, or until all tests are used. Test users can also choose to take part in an optional research study to complete surveys and earn up to $100 in gift cards.

Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor residents can visit the website CovidTestAAYpsi.org to order test kits for doorstep delivery. Test kits will also be available for pickup locally at the following locations:

• Washtenaw County Health Department- 555 Towner St, Ypsilanti, MI, 48198 during COVID-19 walk-in vaccination clinics. These hours are currently Tues-Fri from 9-11:30am and 1-3:30pm.
• Health Department COVID-19 vaccination clinics in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, listed at washtenaw.org/covid19vaccine

If you have questions about the Say Yes! COVID Test project, or want to find a pickup location near you, use the links above or call the Health Department at 734-544-6700. To read this press release in Spanish, visit washtenaw.org/health or follow the Washtenaw County Health Department on social media @wcpublichealth.