A COVID-19 Self- Test Home Kit Available as of Today for Residents of West Bayside, Portland, and Other Vulnerable Maine Commuities, According to ZIP Code.
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Residents of West Bayside, a Portland neighborhood, are eligible to participate in today’s launch of a new pilot project with The Rockefeller Foundation, to make home testing kits for COVID-19 accessible to vulnerable communities in Maine. West Bayside residents are one of two communities in Cumberland County eligible for participation. The announcement was issued today in a press release issued by Governor Janet T. Mills (D) office.
Twenty-five thousand free home self-test kits are now available to Maine households. No payment information is required for both the tests and shipping that are free to eligible residents. The tests will be delivered through Amazon approximately one week after ordering. The tests require a quick swab inside each nostril, with results available within minutes. Any individual over the age of two can use the test.
Residents in approximately a quarter of all Maine ZIP codes are eligible for the free tests. Eligibility is based on ZIP codes that are the most socially vulnerable in Maine, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s social vulnerability index, with additional consideration given to rural ZIP codes with low vaccination rates and limited access to testing. Any Maine resident can visit the Project Act website, AccessCovidTests.org, to enter their ZIP code to determine their eligibility.
Maine is one of six states partnering with The Rockefeller Foundation on Project ACT to increase access to testing as demand remains high due to the Omicron surge. The first phase of the pilot project begins today, with states encouraging eligible residents to order tests through the Project ACT websie for home delivery. The program is limited to one order per residential address during this first phase of the project.
“Having convenient access to affordable, fast testing is an important tool to limit the spread of COVID-19 and protect the health of Maine people as we go about our daily lives,” said Governor Janet Mills (D), the first woman governor of Maine. “I thank The Rockfeller Foundation for partnering with us to send free rapid tests directly to the homes of many Maine people as we continue to work alongside the Federal government to make testing more available to more folks,”
Project Act is supported by a $7.45 million investment The Rockefeller Foudation, that covers the costs for iHealth COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Tests and logistics and distribution managed by amzon and Care Evaluation. The other five states participating in the pilot project are: Arkansas, Ilinois, Michigan, New Mexico and Ohio.