NEW YORK (WETM) – New York is the only state in the United States where you can not purchase Amazon’s at-home COVID-19 PCR test.

The FDA Authorized at-home nasal test is designed for potential COVID-19 patients to self-administer a Real-Time RT-Polymerase Chain Reaction, or PCR, COVID-19 test. Amazon describes the test as the “gold standard” and that while it is not a rapid test, results are expected within 24 hours of the sample arriving at a lab.

These $39.99 tests include a pre-paid UPS box and label for patients to send their tests to the lab for results.

COVID-19 tests are available at hospitals and clinics across the state, but in-home tests have been promoted to prevent potentially infectious people from traveling to testing sites and potentially infecting others.

If someone attempts to have one of the test collection kits sent to New York, they’re told by Amazon “this item cannot be shipped to your selected delivery location. Please choose a different delivery location.”

An Amazon customer submitted a question regarding the product asking why it would not ship to an address in Buffalo, and received a response from AmazonDx, a subsidiary of Amazon that handles COVID-19 testing.

No description available.

According to the New York State Department of Health, Amazon’s test has not received a clinical laboratory permit, but that the company has submitted a request that is under review.

“In accordance with New York State Public Health Law, all clinical laboratories processing New York State collected samples are required to have a New York State clinical laboratory permit. Amazon has submitted an application for a clinical laboratory permit which is currently under review.”

Abigail Barker, NYSDOH

18 News has also reached out to Governor Hochul’s office and Amazon for comment.

On Monday Governor Hochul’s office reported that 107,325 COVID-19 tests were administered and over 4,100 (3.86 percent) returned as positive. New York has a rolling 7-day average of 3.31 percent.

“While we have come so far in containing COVID, the virus is still a threat to our communities – it is up to us to prevent it from spreading any further,” Governor Hochul said. “Wear a mask, wash your hands and, if you haven’t already, get vaccinated today. The vaccine is effective, it’s safe, and it’s available free of charge. It is the best protection we have against COVID.”