Amid a surge of infections, demand for the tests has soared. At-home rapid tests are scarce and testing sites have lines wrapped around the block in some areas of Bexar County. Online appointments are also full.
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Here’s what we know about the current outlook.
At-home rapid COVID tests: If you can find an at-home test, major retailers, such as CVS, Walmart and Walgreens, have imposed limits on how many you can buy. Amazon has also added caps.
The worldwide demand for the test is a large factor in why they’re so hard to find. Supply chain problems that have plagued the country for months are also a factor.
Estella Raychaudhuri, the president of InBios International, told NPR this week that the company is having difficulty getting raw materials necessary for items such as swabs and printed material.
In an effort to curb the rise in cases, the federal government announced that it will soon begin mailing at-home COVID test kits for free to any U.S. household that requests one. The Biden administration said it would ship as many as 500 million kits.
After a deal with the White House to sell at-home testing kits expired, both Walmart Inc. and Kroger Co. announced they will raise prices, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.
The price of BinaxNOW tests at Walmart will rise to $19.88 this week from $14. Kroger told Bloomberg that it was reinstating “retail pricing” after completing its three-month commitment to the Biden administration. Walmart told Bloomberg it kept the lower price during the holidays even after the deal with the White House expired. That agreement also extended to Amazon.
In the meantime, the Texas Hospital Association said recently that individuals needing a COVID-19 because of a recent exposure or are experiencing mild symptoms should seek care at a pharmacy, doctor’s office or dedicated testing site. This helps ensure that resources for critical care emergency departments are accessible, the association said.
Many local pharmacies, however, are also booked several days in advance.
CVS said in a post on its website that appointments are limited and lab test results are taking one to three days to process because of the surge in cases.
COVID testing sites: Local health officials have raised the area’s COVID-19 risk level to “severe,” just below “critical,” the highest threat level. But anyone who has tried to get a test recently has been largely met with long lines and full appointments.
Curative, which runs the vast majority of free testing sites in San Antonio, told the Express-News this week that patients booking appointments at its locations can get in to be tested within one or two days. As of Tuesday, however, many of the testing sites were booked through the rest of the week.
Curative is testing about 10,000 people per day in the San Antonio area during the current surge. Still, while the testing lines may be long, the company said everyone who has wanted a test has gotten a test.
The city of San Antonio is weighing whether to renew its partnership with Community Labs, a provider of rapid COVID-19 testing services. The company told the Express-News it could provide thousands of additional tests to help with the demand.
Additionally, the Federal Emergency Management Agency will open six new COVID-19 testing sites across Texas, including one in Bexar County.
How to get a test: You can find the nearest testing site at Curative.com. A list of local testing locations can also be found at covid19.sanantonio.gov along with phone numbers and hours of operation.
