COVID-19 Testing for Child Care Settings

EEC has committed to continuing to provide free rapid antigen tests to child care providers through June 30, 2023. EEC will be partnering with CIC Health for the remainder of the rapid antigen test distribution program. Tighe Logistics will no longer be providing support for this program. Below, please find new information for ordering rapid antigen tests through June 30, 2023:

Order Instructions

To order antigen tests for your organization, please go to https://cic-health.com/antigen-testing-ma or contact us.

All orders will be delivered within two business days by 4:30pm. If you cannot accept deliveries after 4pm, or experience any issues, please get in touch with us.

Instrucciones de Pedidos

Para solicitar pruebas de antígenos para su organización, por favor vaya a https://cic-health.com/antigen-testing-ma o contáctenos aquí.

Todos los pedidos se entregarán en un plazo de dos días hábiles a las 4:30 pm. Si no puede aceptar entregas después de las 4:00 pm, o tiene algún problema, por favor comuníquese con nosotros.

When using tests, please know that the FDA has extended the expiration dates on the rapid antigen tests several times. Most recently, on January 11, 2023 the FDA extended the expiration date of iHealth COVID-19 at-home tests by an additional 3 months. iHealth COVID-19 at-home tests may be used for up to 15 months from the date of manufacture. Find the new expiration date at https://ihealthlabs.com/pages/news.

As a reminder, EEC, in coordination with the Department of Public Health (DPH), continues to urge providers to leverage our COVID-19 Isolation and Exposure Guidance for Children and Staff in Child Care, K-12, Out-of-School Time (OST) and Recreational Camp/Program Settings to understand how to handle any cases of COVID-19 in their programs. In alignment with this guidance, EEC and DPH continue to recommend that rapid antigen tests are preferred to PCR tests in most situations to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Residential programs should continue to follow EOHHS’s congregate care guidance.

The EEC COVID-19 Healthline continues to be available, in English and Spanish, to EEC-affiliated programs to support COVID-19 related inquiries and support the implementation of testing guidance. Programs can continue to contact the Healthline via telephone at 857-488-4418 or via this online form.

The EEC COVID-19 Healthline will continue to be available until June 30, 2023.

COVID-19 Vaccinations for Children

People ages 6 months+ who live, work, or study in Massachusetts should get a COVID-19 vaccine. People ages 5+ should get a booster.

Find a location at Vaccines.gov.

Children Ages 6 months-4 Years Old

Children ages 6 months through 5 years old who live in Massachusetts are able to get the COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine is safe and effective. You don't need an ID or insurance to get the vaccine.