Amazon announced this morning it would begin to sell its own brand of COVID-19 at-home tests to Amazon shoppers in the U.S. The test retails for $39.99 on the Amazon.com website and is available to any U.S. customer without a prescription. The COVID-19 PCR collection kit is shipped to the customer’s home via Amazon Prime, offering everything needed to perform a nasal swab. Customers will then return the collection tube with the swab inside via the included return box. Amazon says it will be able to provide results within 24 hours of receiving the sample at its lab.
The collection kit will be processed by Amazon’s in-house laboratory, which the company created during the pandemic as part of its in-house COVID-19 testing program for its frontline workers. To date, Amazon’s labs in the U.S. and U.K. have processed millions of tests from over 750,000 of its employees, the company says. With the new at-home kit, Amazon is expanding its U.S. lab’s capabilities to its retail shoppers.
Amazon says it’s using the more accurate PT-PCR method, which means you will have to wait for the lab to process your results. It also notes the kits have received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Image Credits: Amazon
According to the Amazon.com listing for the new Amazon COVID-19 Test Collection Kit DTC, the kit will include the swab, a collection tube with saline, a plastic bag with an absorbent pad, and the return box with shipping label. The return shipping is handled by UPS at no additional charge to the customer, and is sent to Amazon’s CAP accredited and CLIA-certified lab in Hebron, Ky.
The kit additionally includes instructions on how to get your results via Amazon’s secure website, AmazonDx.com, and access to documents needed for testing verification. These tests will meet any requirements for testing when traveling within the U.S. (except Hawaii), and when traveling from the U.S. to many international locations, Amazon says. And the kits are FSA and HSA eligible.
“Even as COVID-19 vaccinations continue, widespread access to reliable and affordable COVID-19 testing remains a critical tool in the fight against the spread of the virus, said Cem Sibay, the Amazon VP heading the company’s COVID-19 testing work. “The Amazon collection kit offers customers the convenience they’ve come to expect from Amazon.com by providing access to COVID-19 testing whenever and wherever they need it. The test collection kit provides highly accurate and timely results, helping customers feel more confident as they safely return to travel, work, college, and daily life,” Sibay added.