---
title: "You Can Now Get a COVID Test in a Vending Machine"
description: "Students at the University of California in San Diego are now able to get a coronavirus test kit — from a vending machine, as local LA news station KTLA 5 reports. In fact, students and employees are meant to return weekly tests with samples within just 72 hours as part of the university’s “Return to […]"
date: "2021-01-04"
modified: "2021-01-04"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/covid-test-vending-machine"
categories:
  - "Developments"
  - "Health & Medicine"
tags:
  - "coronavirus"
  - "covid19"
---

# You Can Now Get a COVID Test in a Vending Machine

![Students at the University of California in San Diego are now able to get a coronavirus test kit — from a vending machine.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/covid-test-vending-machine.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: UC San Diego\</em\>*

Students at the University of California in San Diego are now able to get a coronavirus test kit from a vending machine, local LA news station [*KTLA5* reports](<https://ktla.com/news/uc-san-diego-installs-coronavirus-test-kit-vending-machines/>).

The machines are part of a program in which students and employees will be provided with free tests. The university will cover the cost, but students will have to complete daily symptom and exposure screenings.

Twenty vending machines containing the kits were installed in early December in an attempt to get ahead of any potential outbreaks. Testing is meant for both the symptomatic and asymptomatic.

Remote-only students are also encouraged to take part in free testing twice a month, according to the [university's website](<https://returntolearn.ucsd.edu/return-to-campus/testing-and-screening/student-screening-and-testing/index.html#covid-testing>).

Anybody who doesn't complete their test "for more than 16 days will be referred to the Student Conduct Office for the progressive discipline process."

According to *KTLA 5*, UC San Diego will also test samples of wastewater outflow for signs of the coronavirus.

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)