Biden Acknowledges COVID-19 Test Shortages as Amazon, CVS, Walgreens and Walmart Instate Purchase Limits
With COVID-19 cases on the rise across the U.S., at-home testing kits are becoming a hot commodity. In many cases, they are becoming harder to find as they sell out in stores across the country.
In a COVID-19 response team call with the National Governors Association, President Biden addressed the need to make more tests available as cases surge across the country.
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“Seeing how tough it was for some folks to get a test this weekend shows that we have more work to do, and we’re doing it,” Biden said. He also acknowledged how in less than one year, the country went from having no no over-the-counter tests to almost 200 million in December.
Biden said that his administration has purchased 500 million additional at-home rapid tests to be sent to Americans for free when they request them. He added that he will use the Defense Production Act to produce more tests and work with private insurance to reimburse people for the cost of at-home tests.
Demand is so high that certain retailers are placing purchase limitations on the number of tests people can purchase. Over the counter tests in high demand right now include the Abbott BinaxNOW, Acon FlowFlex, Quidel Quickvue, Ellume, and Pixel by LabCorp tests.
As cases and demand for testing surges, here are the retailers that capping the number of tests available for purchase.
Amazon
Amazon said it is experience shortages in COVID-19 tests due to strong demand. As such a spokesperson said that the company is limited the number of purchaes for its own Amazon COVID-19 Test Collection Kit to 10 per shopper.
“We are working hard to secure additional COVID-19 test inventory available from our selling partners,” the spokesperson said.
In regards to third party sellers, Amazon is allowing them to set their own product quantity limits for their tests available on Amazon.
CVS
CVS Pharmacy said is working to make sure it has enough stock of the different at-home tests as it faces a surge in demand. The chain said it is limiting purchases to six tests per person in order to ensure broader access
“Due to a recent surge in demand, and to retain community-based access to tests in our stores, there may be temporary out-of-stocks for these products on CVS.com,” a CVS spokesperson told FN in a statement. “We’re committed to providing families with protection and peace of mind during the holiday season, and we continue to offer access to lab-based testing with results available in 1-2 days or rapid COVID-19 testing at more than 4,800 CVS Pharmacy locations.”
Walmart
Walmart said while its inventory of COVID-19 tests is stronger in store, it is facing more limited inventory online. As such, Walmart is limited purchases of these tests to eight testing kits per online order to help keep testing available to more people
“We have not placed limits nationally for in store purchases, however each store may or may not set its own limits based upon local inventory,” a Walmart spokesperson said.
Walgreens
Walgreens has implemented a four-item purchase limit on at-home COVID-19 tests, which is effective online and in stores
“Some stores may experience a temporary shortage in rapid OTC testing solutions,” Walgreens wrote in an online statement.
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