Test to Treat initiative - Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR)

The Biden-Harris Administration launched a new nationwide Test to Treat initiative in March to give individuals an important way to quickly access free lifesaving treatment for COVID-19. Through this program, people are able to get tested and – if they are positive and treatments are appropriate for them – receive a prescription from a health care provider, and have their prescription filled all at one location. These “One-Stop Test to Treat” sites are available at hundreds of locations nationwide, including pharmacy-based clinics, Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA)-supported federal​ly-qualified health centers (FQHCs), and long-term care facilities. People can continue to be tested and treated by their own health care providers who can appropriately prescribe these oral antivirals at locations where the medicines are distributed. 

A Test to Treat lo​c​ato​​r is available to help find participating sites. A call center is also available at 1-800-232-0233 (TTY 1-888-720-7489) to get help in English, Spanish, and more than 150 other languages – 8:00 am to midnight ET, 7 days a week. The Disability Information and Access Line (DIAL) is also available to specifically help people with disabilities access services. To get help, call 1-888-677-1199, Monday-Friday from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm ET or email DIAL@usaginganddisability.org.

How Test to Treat Works for Individuals and Families

The Test to Treat program can provide faster, easier access to lifesaving COVID-19 treatments. If you test positive, you can see a health care provider, and if eligible, get a prescription for an oral COVID-19 treatment and have that prescription filled—all at one location.

There are hundreds of pharmacy-based Test to Treat locations nationwide, including HHS Health Resources and Services Administration-funded community health centers. People can also continue to be tested and treated by their own health care providers, who can prescribe these oral antivirals and patients can fill their prescriptions at locations where the antivirals are distributed.

COVID-19 treatments must be started early in order to work. With the new Test to Treat initiative, eligible patients can get tested and start treatment in one visit to a participating site.

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Step 1: Get Tested

Get tested for COVID-19 at a Test to Treat site or bring your test results from an at-home test, a pharmacy, or your health care provider with you to your visit.

You can use the web-based Test to Trea​t locator to find a participating site near you. You can also call 1-800-232-0233 (TTY 1-888-720-7489) to get help in English, Spanish, and more than 150 other languages. The call center is open from 8am to midnight ET, 7 days a week. In addition, the Disability Informatio​n and Access Line (DIAL) is available to help people with disabilities access services.

Step 2: Get a prescription from an on-site healthcare provider if you are at high risk of getting very sick

If you test positive for COVID-19, ask the on-site health care provider during your appointment if you are eligible for a prescription for a COVID-19 oral antiviral treatment. Bring any medications (or a list of the medications you are currently taking) with you to your appointment.

Step 3: Get Treated

Ask the on-site or affiliated pharmacist to fill the prescription. Once your prescription has been filled, you can take your oral antiviral pills with you to begin treatment!

Distribution to Pharmacy-based Clinics and Long-term Care Pharmacies

The federal government has invested in a medicine cabinet of COVID-19 treatments, which includes two oral antiviral pills – Pfizer’s Paxlovid and Merck’s Lagevrio (molnupiravir) – that can help prevent severe illness and hospitalization when taken soon after symptom onset.

Effective March 7, ASPR began​ distributing oral antiviral pills directly to participating Test to Treat pharmacy-based clinics, making more treatments available to more eligible people in more locations. Participating loc​ations​ provide access for people to get tested, receive a prescription from a health care provider, and have their prescription filled - all at one convenient location.

• ASPR will also open direct ordering of oral antivirals to long-term care pharmacies to facilitate increased access for long-term care residents who are at increased risk for developing severe COVID-19.
• The Test to Treat initiative builds upon the existing distribution of oral antivirals to thousands of locations across all states and territories and 200 HRSA-funded community health centers nationwide.

While vaccination continues to provide the best protection against COVID-19, the Test to Treat initiative is part of a broader strategy to quickly connect eligible individuals who are at high risk of getting very sick from COVID-19 to treatments.

Building upon the existing distribution of oral antivirals to thousands of locations across all states and territories, the Test to Treat initiative is part of a broader strategy to quickly connect eligible individuals who are at high risk of getting very sick from COVID-19 to appropriate treatments. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is also connecting our nation’s veterans who test positive at VA medical centers directly to treatment.