The popularity of at-home COVID-19 testing kits has skyrocketed as the delta variant has spread, leaving many consumers scrambling to find them as retailers struggle to catch up with demand. Over-the-counter COVID-19 test kits are now the top-selling items in CVS stores, a spokeswoman said. Manufacturers of BinaxNOW Self Tests said demand for its products is increasing as cases rise and it’s working with retailers to keep store shelves stocked. “The phrase ‘flying off the shelves’ would probably be appropriate,” said Tim Halfin, regional pharmacy director for H-E-B’s Houston Division.
The home testing kits have grown in popularity with the concurrent rise in delta cases and the return of students to school this month, he said. Vaccination volumes at H-E-B’s Houston pharmacies have also returned to the peak volumes they reached in April. Supply throughout Houston has been spotty as demand for home test kits soars, but Halfin said H-E-B should be well-stocked for at least the next couple of weeks. “We placed what I’ve been told was a very large order of them,” he said. Leslie Santamaria, of Houston, had to do a bit of hunting to score her kit last week after learning she’d been exposed to COVID-19. She wanted immediate results — she is fully vaccinated, she said, but her young children are not. “I wanted to know ASAP to protect my under-12 children,” she said. The first pharmacy she went to was sold out of the kit she wanted, Santamaria said, so she searched CVS’ website for which stores had them in stock and found one on South Main. Walmart said it, too, is noticing and adjusting to an uptick in home test sales. “While we have seen increased demand for COVID testing kits, we are not experiencing major supply issues overall and if a particular store has low or no inventory,” it said in a statement, “we expect it is temporary as product moves through the supply chain.” Rapid tests at drive-thru operations by Walgreens and CVS are also getting harder to schedule as people scramble for tests. Testing slots are booked days in advance. Compounding the demand for testing in recent weeks was the rampant spread of colds and other viruses that had been suppressed as people wore masks and socially distanced earlier in the pandemic, said Steve Hoffart, owner of Magnolia Pharmacy in Magnolia. He said his customers are blowing through cough and cold medicines. “You would think it’s the fall,” he said, noting a run like this is abnormal for summer. “You don’t ever see this.” Hoffart said he received so many requests for home testing kits last week that he ordered his first batch, which arrived on shelves Monday. He said people are out and about more than they had been in a while and are catching all kinds of viruses en masse, are experiencing allergy symptoms and are wondering which is which. Immune systems got weaker during the pandemic as people masked up and limited their exposure to others, he said, urging use of Vitamin D to help give it a boost.
“Your immune system’s like a muscle,” he said. “We didn’t let our immune system work.” Catherine Troisi, an epidemiologist with UTHealth School of Public Health, said resources shifted away from testing and toward vaccination earlier in the pandemic, but testing remains an important piece of the pandemic puzzle. Knowing your test result influences how careful you are about socializing and potentially sharing germs with others. “Your inclination might be you’re not as careful as you would be if you had a positive test in-hand,” she said. The PCR tests available at doctor’s offices and pharmacies are “the gold standard” for accuracy, Troisi said. The downside is results take longer — a day or two or sometimes more — to produce, while rapid antigen tests take around 15 minutes. Rapid tests, meanwhile, are not as sensitive so false negatives are possible. Troisi also recommended taking two rapid tests in the event a test is positive, as false positives are possible but less likely to happen twice. The advantage of rapid tests is they can be taken so quickly and regularly, she said. In settings where people take rapid tests every three days, “it’s actually very good at detecting infections and it rivals the PCR.”I urge you to stock up while you can.