As nationwide demand for at-home testing kits skyrockets during the holiday season, short supply is affecting the stock of at-home testing kits at local retailers.
Holiday travel precautions and a surge of nationwide COVID-19 infections spurred by the omicron variant are leading many to use at-home test kits to monitor their infection status as an extra safety measure before, or after, any celebratory gatherings.
Lima’s Professional Pharmacy in Eureka has seen daily interest far surpass the monthly 24-item stock allocated to the store by its wholesale supplier.
“It’s terrible. We can’t keep them in stock. We’ve only been able to get a few at a time they’ve been allocated to us. And we just can’t keep enough of them in stock,” Lima’s technician Kristin Campbell told the Times-Standard. “I personally have probably gotten 30 calls today from people looking for testing kits and that’s just me out of a staff of 10 people. We’ve all received about that many calls from customers.”
With insufficient supply, Lima’s staff has been referring customers to chain stores, which take priority over independent pharmacies, in hopes they can still find a kit.
“We’re sending people to Walgreens or Walmart. I understand they get their orders on Friday, so people rush to those big boxes, but they’re sold out by noon,” Campbell detailed.
A search for available stock at local Walmart, Target and Walgreens stores for the BinaxNOW, EverlyWell and Ellume at-home COVID-19 test kits at local chain retailers turned up out of stock or unavailable results.
A Target representative told the Times-Standard the company is working to maintain availability.
“While I can’t speak specifically to Eureka, Target is working with vendors to ensure supply and regularly re-stock at-home COVID-19 in stores across the country to meet the strong guest demand this holiday season. We have many tests available online and encourage guests to purchase them at Target.com,” said spokesperson Kayla Castañeda.
Barnes Arcata Family Drug Store ran out of at-home tests Tuesday afternoon, days after receiving its most recent shipment. The independent retailer began to receive the kits near the end of summer, but has not been able to keep a consistent supply of these since.
“Maybe a week or so ago we got more stock and then we just ran out of them,” said manager Adam Dozier.
The Arcata shop has not been able to make an order from its wholesaler despite constant monitoring of available products.
“We generally try and check on them a couple times a day to see if they’re in stock from our wholesaler. If they are, we’ll purchase them, but then we burn through them pretty quickly,” Dozier added.
While demand for the tests is now higher than ever, the inconsistent supply situation and constantly high demand makes it difficult for the Arcata store to determine if the current case surge and holiday-related precautions are driving the shortage at the store.
“That would be hard to say. I mean, supply is just spotty and the demand is high,” Dozier underscored.
When contacted by the Times-Standard Wednesday afternoon, Green’s Pharmacy in Fortuna still had some at-home testing kits in stock. However, the store has not been able to replenish stock as demand ramps up.
“At this time we can’t reorder, but we do have some stock,” said manager Susan Burgess. “So hopefully, when those deplete we will be able to order more.”
Green’s was ordering kits every few weeks, receiving 24 per shipment as well. The kits were selling more during summer, with demand tapering off during Fall. The store is now seeing an uptick in demand.
“(Testing kit) sales are starting to pick up probably in the last week or two,” Burgess said, adding demand for COVID-19 vaccinations at Green’s has remained consistent throughout their availability.
With tests remaining hard to find at mom-and-pop and large national chain retailers, along with a strained supply at hospital and public health facilities, President Joe Biden announced the government will provide 500 million free rapid home-testing kits. Government efforts will also be extended to increase support for hospitals under strain and redouble vaccination and boosting efforts.
As reported by the Associated Press this Tuesday, Biden detailed major changes to his COVID-19 winter plan, his hand forced by the fast-spreading variant, whose properties are not yet fully understood by scientists. His message was clear that the winter holidays could be close to normal for the vaccinated while potentially dangerous for the unvaccinated.
“It’s the only responsible thing to do,” Biden said. “Omicron is a serious and potentially deadly business for unvaccinated people.”
Humboldt County residents looking for COVID-19 testing through public health can consult locations and availability at https://humboldtgov.org/2787/Test-Registration or by calling 888-634-1123.
The Associated Press contributed to this story. Mario Cortez can be reached at 707-441-0526.
