“Diagnosis is the gateway that alerts the most vulnerable among us to seek early treatment like Paxlovid and remdesivir in order to prevent hospitalization and death, and lower the risk of long Covid,” he said. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease specialist at the University of California San Francisco, says easy access to at-home tests is vital because it is the quickest route to finding out if you have the virus. “The number of people who feel the need to hoard the tests is lower,” she says, because Covid-19 no longer has that “fear factor.”Įven if fewer rapid tests are purchased overall, doctors say many Americans are behaving as they should during a rise in cases.ĭr. (add caption) EMS-Forster-Productions/Digital Vision/Getty ImagesĬovid apathy and fatigue are real.
“Today, with many adults having it for the second or sometimes third time, the number of tests being used per incident of Covid-19 is significantly lower for most of the country.”Īspinall also notes that changing attitudes toward Covid-19 are influencing whether someone will purchase an at-home test. The number of tests used per Covid-19 case is also down, Aspinall says, limiting the number of purchases. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo Andrew Kelly/Reuters/FILEĪs a summer wave of Covid-19 hits the US, questions about vaccines, quarantine and testing are backĪbbott, maker of the BinaxNow Covid-19 Antigen Self-Test, says that retailers are well-supplied and that millions of the tests are on the market: “We’re working with retailers to ensure those tests are on shelves and available for consumers.”ĭespite increased demand, Americans should not worry about a potential shortage, according to Mara Aspinall, a professor of practice in biomedical diagnostics at Arizona State University.Īt the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, there were only a handful of at-home test brands that had emergency use authorization, she says. The makers of some antigen tests, like ACON Labs’ Flowflex and QuidelOrtho’s QuickVue, say they are ramping up production in preparation for the fall 2023 virus season.įILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: Packages of BinaxNOW COVID-19 Antigen Self Test, manufactured by Abbott Laboratories, are seen in a store in Manhattan, New York, U.S., November 12, 2021. “At this time, we are not having issues supplying our stores with test kits,” said Catherine Carter, a Rite Aid spokesperson. Similarly, Rite Aid has seen an increase in sales.
“If individual stores experience a temporary product shortage, our teams have a process in place to replenish supply,” CVS spokesperson Amy Thibault told CNN. “We have worked diligently to ensure we have enough supply to meet customers’ needs as we experience greater demand in this category nationwide,” Walgreens said in a statement Friday.ĬVS also says it has the inventory to meet the testing needs of its customers, both in-store and on its website. Major pharmacy chains say they have seen a recent uptick in antigen test kit sales. Manufacturers say that a sudden increase in demand, not a slump in production, is to blame for any problems finding tests on store shelves. Opinion: For people like me who haven’t had it yet, Covid is a waiting game
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