SACRAMENTO, Calif. — As the omicron surge recedes and demand for COVID-19 testing eases, pharmacies, testing companies and hosts of community testing sites say they’re seeing shorter lines and tests more readily available.
ABC10 health expert Dr. Payal Kohli said this is due, in part, to a decrease in community spread of COVID-19 as well as improved supply and access.
“We've seen private payers that are covering testing now. We are seeing test availability, both from the White House and from local and state governments,” she said. “I think the supply chain problems that we've had over the holidays have really started to abate, and we are seeing just more tests being manufactured, really recognizing that paradigm shift where ‘testing, testing, testing’ is going to be the way forward.”
She cautioned, however, that a decrease in demand for testing shouldn’t lead to a false sense of security about the easing of the overall pandemic.
“We are not tracking all the tests that people are doing at home, in terms of whether they're coming back positive or not,” Dr. Kohli said. “Testing is now shifting from the lab to at home, as we enter this new phase of the pandemic, where people are really going to start testing themselves on their own time, at their own convenience, and not necessarily at a facility.”
She encourages anyone who tests positive at home to report that result to their county public health department.
Curative, a testing company that conducts COVID-19 rapid (antigen) and PCR tests at many community clinics in the area - including at Cal Expo, said while testing demand is decreasing, their work is as important as ever.
“We are still testing hundreds of people per day at our sites in Sacramento County,” a Curative spokesperson told ABC10. “It's important to have reliable testing sites throughout the county to ensure that testing stays accessible and equitable…COVID-19 has proved to be incredibly unpredictable and it's important to always have resources in place to keep everyone safe and healthy.”
Just this week, Curative added a testing site in Elk Grove at California Northstate University Kiosk (9700 W. Taron Drive, Mon-Fri 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.), plus it is also bringing a mobile testing van to St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store at 2775 Watt Avenue in Arden Arcade on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
“Curative's COVID-19 testing is at no out-of-pocket costs to patients,” a spokesperson said.
Paris Dye is one of the organizers of the community testing site at Liberty Towers Church in Foothill Farms, where she said they’ve seen a “drastic drop” in the demand for testing.
On Dec. 6, she said, the site administered 461 tests (that is a combination of PCR and rapid tests, and she said many people opted to get both at once). That number peaked in this most recent COVID-19 surge at 1,892 tests on Jan. 17. On Feb. 7, the number of tests dipped down to 396.
For a list of free community testing sites in Sacramento County, click HERE.
ABC10 reached out to CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid, asking about the current availability of at-home, over-the-counter rapid tests.
“Walgreens worked diligently with our suppliers to ensure we have enough supply of over-the-counter COVID-19 tests to meet customer demand at nearly all locations," a Walgreens spokesperson said. “Due to the improved in-stock conditions of at-home COVID-19 testing products, we have removed the purchase limit and we’ve reinstated Same Day Delivery and Pickup solutions for customers.”
A CVS spokesperson said the company has “worked with our vendors to increase inventory of OTC (over-the-counter) COVID-19 tests and have removed all product limits on those products at CVS Pharmacy locations nationwide and on CVS.com.
"Per Federal requirements, commercial insurance companies and group health plans are required to cover the cost of eight (8) OTC COVID-19 tests per month per covered individual. Customers should contact their insurance provider to confirm eligibility and for information about their insurer’s claims submission process. Particularly, in the early stages of this program, we strongly encourage customers to save their receipt(s) as they may need to submit them to their insurer.”
Rite Aid’s spokesperson directed ABC10 to the company’s Feb. 2 news release, which says, “Rite Aid locations have increased supply of at-home COVID-19 test kits available in stores, which are now covered by an individual’s private health insurance or group health plan per a new federal government requirement. Customers can either purchase the at-home test kits at the register and submit their receipt for reimbursement through their health plan or have our pharmacy team bill through their prescription benefits with participating prescription plans.”
Costco sent out an email to customers this week advertising that COVID-19 at-home test kits are “in stock now…while supplies last.”
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