Ordering free COVID-19 test kits with the help of the cloud

To help mitigate the spread of COVID-19, this year the Biden administration has committed to making free COVID-19 test kits available to U.S. households through covidtests.gov. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is honored to support this initiative by working with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to make sure the website for test kit ordering meets nationwide demand.

Covidtests.gov formally launched to the public on January 19, 2022. When households order test kits through covidtests.gov, they are redirected to a USPS website, usps.com/covidtests, to place their orders. AWS worked with the USPS to make sure the webpage could scale quickly to allow Americans in the United States, its territories, and worldwide military and diplomatic sites to place test kit orders. The resiliency and scale offered by AWS enabled the U.S. government to build and launch the website in just three weeks and successfully withstand high-traffic loads. USPS then packaged and delivered the test kits to U.S. households – including nursing homes, university housing, and other residential facilities.

During the initial launch, each household in the U.S. was eligible to order four free test kits per address. About  60 million households placed orders for their free test kits in the first two weeks and 69 million in the first phase. In a second launch on March 7, 2022, each household became eligible to order an additional set of four tests. To date, USPS has received more than 100 million orders for free test kits.

The launch of the COVID test kit website demonstrates how cloud computing can help government agencies quickly scale up to deliver critical missions and improve customer experiences. Building and launching this site in just three weeks is a testament to the commitment of the U.S. government to providing innovative solutions to serve its missions quickly and effectively. AWS is honored to support this initiative.

To order your free test kits, visit usps.com/covidtests.

Read more about AWS for government:

• Delivering better Medicaid services (and happier teams) with the AWS Cloud
• How the cloud enables transformational citizen experiences
• From open data to machine learning, making 1950 Census data available with AWS
• 3 questions government leaders should ask when building a digital service—and how the cloud can help
• Delivering homeowner assistance funds quickly to people in need with the cloud

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