At-Home COVID Test Kits Available
At-Home COVID-19 tests will now be offered at Jefferson Community Health & Life Fairbury Clinic to our patients seen for COVID symptoms. If a patient is seen for COVID symptoms and needs a COVID-19 test sent home for repeat testing for themselves or for testing for others in their household, their healthcare provider can provide at-home test kits at no cost to the patient.
When a COVID-19 home test is performed correctly, a positive test is valid. The optimal testing time should be 3-5 days after symptom onset. It is recommended that if a person has symptoms and tests negative, they should test again a day or two later. If a person tests positive with an at-home test kit (whether they have symptoms or not) they should isolate for at least five days and then follow strict masking protocols around people for another five days.
JCH&L will not perform additional testing to confirm a positive at-home COVID-19 test result. Businesses may want to ask employees to take a photo of the at-home test result and share it with their employer. JCH&L will not do testing at the end of isolation to provide a negative test for return to work purposes. If an employer wants a negative test for return to work purposes JCH&L recommends an at-home test, as well.
JCH&L is currently not offering testing for those who are asymptomatic, and recommends at-home tests for those who may have had an exposure and would like to test.
At this time, these test kits are only available to patients that have an appointment through the clinic or are seen in the ER.
JCH&L Fairbury Clinic currently has a supply of at-home test kits provided by the Health Resources and Services Administration. These test kits have been supplied to Rural Health Clinics.
Every home in the United States is currently eligible to order 4 free at-home COVID tests by going to covidtests.gov. In addition, those with health insurance can have the cost of at-home tests kits purchased at a pharmacy reimbursed. Some insurance plans allow for direct coverage (meaning the cost is directly covered at the pharmacy.)
