Praise then darkness, and creation unfinished

I just bought a couple of rapid tests at the supermarket pharmacy, because we were down to the last two tests we got for free, and I want to keep more tests on hand than people who live here.

I think I can get some rapid tests free from the city government, but I need to make calls to confirm hours etc. That's Boston-specific, but I don't know if they're going to ask for proof of residence (or even if the program is running anymore).

Because the pandemic is not over:

I just checked the extended expiration dates on our stock of at-home covid tests, and they are all still valid, fortunately.

I have labeled the boxes of tests with the new/extended dates, stacked them in order of expiration dates, and rubber-banded the boxes together.

That's six covid quick tests (3 boxes) plus one Lucira "PCR quality" test. That seems like a reasonable balance between having enough tests on hand that we (3 people) will be able to test when we want to, and not having to throw away expired tests.

Here's the FDA web page to check extended test expiration dates.

I just went over to CVS, waited for the pharmacy to open so I could get some insurance-paid covid tests, and discovered that my insurance company has stopped doing that. The pharmacy clerk did say my insurance would cover the tests up-front if I could get a doctor to write a prescription, but sounded like she didn't think that was likely.

We have few enough tests left that I paid for one box, and will figure out how to put in for reimbursement. When I see the doctor on Friday (for something unrelated) I am going to ask her about prescribing some of those tests.

I am also not happy that Massachusetts charges sales tax on those covid tests.

I just ordered eight more free covid tests from the US government. We're also entitled to free tests at the pharmacy (paid for by our health insurance company), because the federal ones come in the mail (free shipping), and the others would require going to the drugstore, and possibly waiting in line.

To order free tests if you live in the US: https://special.usps.com/testkits. That's eight per household (the previous rounds offered four per household), and you don't have to have health insurance. (You do have to live in the US, at an address the post office can find.)

I know that Massachusetts health insurance companies are required to cover eight tests per month, per person with insurance, but I don't know what the rules are in other states.

I want to have enough of these on hand that I can test because of things like a cough that I'm pretty sure is a remnant of being sick last year, but I've used the inhaler twice since lunchtime. (This happened yesterday, so I used a rapid test, which was unsurprisingly, and reassuringly, negative.)