Are we in a post-Covid era? An extended Covid era? Nearly four years after the country’s first case of Covid-19 was confirmed in Washington, our state is introducing vending machines that will dispense free test kits, among other health supplies. Close your eyes and think back to February of 2020. This is not the future you would have imagined.

The machines, unveiled by the Department of Health, will be located in public places such as “food banks, transit stations, churches, schools, and libraries,” and managed by local health jurisdictions and Tribal Nations.

Their development is a sign of how much society has changed. Even with Covid numbers relatively flat—and relatively low compared to last year—the presence of infectious respiratory diseases like influenza and RSV, and our need to respond to them quickly, has become a public health priority.

"Rapid testing is part of our new normal," said Kristina Allen, Community Testing Supervisor for the Department of Health in their press release.

But our new normal can still be expensive. A two-pack of rapid Covid tests at a typical pharmacy still retails for $19.99 over the counter.

The kiosks, as they are officially called, can also be stocked with other public health supplies at the direction of local jurisdictions and tribes, such as fentanyl test strips, Narcan, and pregnancy tests.