HMS Testing Guide

COVID testing is optional for all Harvard community members as of May 10, 2022. Anyone with symptoms or known exposure should continue to test. Those who test positive should notify Harvard University Health Services (HUHS) through Crimson Clear. Anyone who would still like to test is welcome to do so.  

The information on this page is meant for those who are still required to test and those who choose to test. Those who plan to test must first confirm with their program, unit or department administrator/manager that you have been entered into the local HMS databases for testing eligibility (HCAR & RULP). Beginning May 23, data will be pushed to Color on a once-weekly basis. Those entered by 10 a.m. on Tuesday will be eligible to setup their Color account after 8 a.m. that Wednesday.

Prior to Arrival on Campus

For those who choose to test and are returning to campus for the first time or after any period of time away:

• Review the University Coronavirus information page and FAQs.
• Review the University’s updated testing protocols to ensure you have sufficient lead time to comply with your designated pre- and post-arrival testing requirements, including the requirement to test upon arrival on campus. Please note that once you have dropped off your test, you are permitted to enter campus buildings. 
• Take the Self-Administration of COVID-19 Test training on the Harvard Training Portal.
• Verify your optional testing eligibility.
  • Login to Crimson Clear.
  • The landing page will list your vaccination reporting and testing profile information.
  • Verify that you are listed as eligible. If you find that you are not listed as eligible, please contact your program, unit, or department administrator/manager. 
  • Please note that daily health attestation is no longer required via Crimson Clear unless you have symptoms, in which case you should not come to campus and you should report your symptoms via Crimson Clear. 
• Create your Color account (detailed instructions below). You cannot obtain a test kit until you have successfully activated your Color account and can navigate to the activate kit screen. If you do not complete this step prior to test pick-up, you may be delayed in getting a test.
• Consider reviewing the Harvard COVID-19 Safety Awareness Training

Creating a Color Account

• Visit www.color.com using your computer or smartphone web browser.
• Click “Sign In” (On a computer this is located top right in blue lettering. On a smartphone, click the three stacked lines on the top right of your screen and then “Sign In” is located at the bottom of the drop-down menu.)
• Go to “Don’t have a color account?”, click on “Create One”, and fill in first name, last name, and email address.
  • You may give a Harvard or personal email address, which will become your login name and the email address where you will receive testing notifications. You will then receive an email at the email address you supplied which you will need to click on to verify the account. You will be prompted to enter your organizational email or ID that’s associated with the program. New users will enter their HUID#. If you do not know your HUID#, please contact your department or unit administrator. In the rare instance that there is another testing population with an individual with the same 8-digit HUID#, you will be prompted for a program code, at which point you would enter HUFAS.
• Troubleshooting for account creation errors: Log in to Crimson Clear, go to your “Profile,” and confirm that you are listed as eligible on the COVID Testing Information page. If you are not listed as eligible, contact your department. If you are listed as eligible and cannot proceed, please contact ithelp@harvard.edu for assistance.
• Once your account is created, you will be prompted to indicate what kind of testing. Click on “I want to activate a COVID-19 test kit.”
• If you need assistance with or have questions about your Color account, visit the Color End User Support FAQ webpage.

Obtaining a Test

• Test kits are available 24/7 at the NRB Security Desk on the 1^st floor, as well as from 8am-4pm Monday-Friday at the C-Link security desk connecting TMEC and Building C and the G/A-Link security desk connecting the Goldenson and Armenise buildings on the Quad side of the buildings.
• Please note that distribution will be available at the NRB security desk ONLY on all Harvard holidays.
• You will only need to show your HUID, and you may collect up to 4 kits at a time.
• Please note that the current test kits, which are from Harvard University Clinical Lab (HUCL) and have a plastic swab, will be retired after June 30 at which time the HUCL Lab will be closed. Please do not deposit a HUCL test kit after June 30 as the sample will not be processed and you will not receive a result.
• Beginning the week of June 27, all test kit pick up sites will transition to distributing Broad test kits (cotton swab). You are welcome at that time to turn in to security any supply of HUCL kits you may have in exchange for Broad test kits with a maximum exchange of 4. If you have more than 4 HUCL kits, Security will collect them, but only 4 will be exchanged for a Broad test kit.
• Please note that a Broad test kit carries a 24-48 hour turnaround time for a result.
• Please note, security staff have no access/ability to troubleshoot testing/eligibility issues. If you are unsure of your eligibility status or unfamiliar with the testing process, you will need to speak with your department or unit administrator for assistance before collecting a test kit.

Activating a Test Kit

• When you are ready to take your test, sign in to your Color account at Color.com. Click on the red “Activate Kit” button, which can be found on your dashboard. If you do not see it, go to the three stacked lines in the top left corner, and click on “Activate Kit.”
• You will be prompted to type in your barcode exactly as it appears on the kit label.
• Complete the Pre-Test Survey (you will need to complete this every time you take a test)
• Confirm your email, birthdate, and phone number.
• This will bring you to a graphic of the test tube on its side and ask for two barcode #’s. These numbers are found on the light blue card in your test envelope. Enter the D # where prompted, DO NOT enter any dashes, numbers only.
  • Enter the C # where prompted.
  • Confirm the numbers are correct.
  • If you are unsuccessful entering the barcode information, please contact support@color.com with your barcode number, name, and date of birth.
• Once activated, you should receive both an email and text message, and you are ready to proceed with test administration.
• You may not administer the test in any public area. You should test in your office, dorm room or other private space (i.e. campus restrooms). If testing outdoors, face away from others and maintain at least 6 feet of distance.

Administering a Test

• Each testing kit contains information on how to administer the self-test.
• A helpful self-paced training module is also available in the Harvard Training Portal.
• Please follow the steps detailed below.
  • Swab on the day that you will be dropping off your completed kit.
  • Activate the tube with your Color account so they know it is yours. Failure to do so will result in destruction of the sample on arrival at the lab and you will need to re-test.
  • Wash your hands and find a clean place to test.
  • Make sure to obtain the sample correctly, following the instructions included in your test kit.
  • Completely seal the bag so your tube doesn’t fall out prior to depositing it into the collection bins.

Dropping Off a Test

• After taking your test, deposit your sample as soon as possible in the collection bin at the New Research Building lobby.  
• The following schedule is in place for sample collection from the bins noted above:

  • Monday through Friday, last pick up not before 9am. There is no test collection or processing on Saturdays, Sundays, or on university holidays.

  • “Last pick up not before” time represents the last time that a test can be dropped to guarantee same-day pick-up. Any test dropped after “last pick up not before” time noted will be collected the following morning.

  • Note that samples are able to be tested up to 54 hours after activation and sampling. No tests should be dropped Friday after 9 a.m. Those who cannot meet this deadline should wait and test the following week.  
• Prior to depositing your completed test kit, please ensure that you have typed the bar code numbers from your test kit tube into the “activate kit” screen in Color. Failure to complete this step will result in a destroyed sample given that there will be no account to tie the results to.
• A list of all drop-off bin locations can be found here. You are welcome to drop off test samples at any of the locations, please just be aware other locations may have different collection schedules.

Receiving & Understanding Your Test Results

• You will receive an email and text notification from Color as soon as your test results are available, typically within one to three days. You can also sign in to your Color account at Color.com to see the status of your most recent and all previous test samples. Alternatively, you can visit color.com/covid-test and enter your date of birth and the test barcode associated to your kit.
• Per Harvard’s website for understanding your test results:
  • Negative Test Results: If you test negative for COVID-19, no further action is needed. Continue to wear a mask, maintain your required testing frequency, and practice good hygiene. Read more tips about how to keep Harvard healthy.
  • Positive Test Results: If you receive notification of a positive test through Harvard’s testing program, it’s incredibly important to minimize your movement and exposure to others by returning or staying home and wearing a well-fitting mask at all times if in the presence of other household members. HUHS will contact you via your Harvard email about what it means to test positive and explain next steps, including isolation and notifying your close contacts. HUHS relies on email for most communication, so please check your Harvard email for instructions about next steps. 
  • Unsatisfactory Sample: If you receive an unsatisfactory result, you will need to take another test as soon as possible. If your repeat test requires clinical observation, HUHS will let you know. If you are in quarantine, it is acceptable to leave your home briefly in order to submit a test sample, but masks and physical distancing are required.
  • Inconclusive Sample: If you receive an inconclusive result or a notification that the lab was unable to return results for your sample, please submit another test as soon as possible. If you are currently in isolation or quarantine, you should continue to adhere to relevant guidelines until additional results are received. 
• Harvard publicly reports its testing data and positivity rate on the University-wide COVID-19 testing dashboard.  

TEST KIT PICK-UP SCHEDULE

There will be no test collection or processing on the following university holidays and recharge bonus days:
Friday, June 17
Monday, June 20
Friday, July 1
Monday, July 4

For additional information, please refer to the testing portion of the Returning to Campus webpage.