He encourages anybody who gets a positive result that seems strange — you have no symptoms and no known exposure — to take another test, ideally with another brand. “The chance of getting two false positives is so low that if one test comes back negative, you can trust it,” he said. “If you test positive twice, you have Covid.”
Of course, the shortages of kits can prove frustrating to customers who can’t find them.
Angela Clayton, 53, who owns a housecleaning franchise in Phoenix, tried to find a kit after being exposed to Covid at a funeral. “I went to probably half a dozen places: CVS, Kroger, our grocery chain. I was looking everywhere,” she said. “They had all these empty shelves where they were supposed to be, and when I asked the pharmacists if they had boxes in the back, they said: We haven’t had them for days.”
Todd Brady, 38, a software engineer in Ankeny, Iowa, even created an online tool where, among other things, Iowans can see where there are at-home tests in stock. Over 15,000 people have used the site since it went online in September. He said he lives in a place with no mask mandates, and the state closed its five drive-in testing facilities in July, replacing them with mailed tests, which can take a few days to arrive. Which is why “we need at-home tests” that can be purchased on short notice, he said.
Dave Cutler, 44, a freelance writer who lives in Waltham, Mass., has been stocking up on at-home tests for his son’s bar mitzvah in December. “We are going to have a small gathering, definitely under 50 people, but we still want to ask folks to take a test,” he said; guests will also be required to be vaccinated. He’s been placing orders on CVS.com and Walgreens.com and looking out for them whenever he goes to a pharmacy.
“If I see a couple I will grab them,” he said. “I have even started telling friends, if you see them, get them, and I will reimburse you.”
The major pharmacies are feeling the hit and acting accordingly. “Due to the incredible demand for at-home testing, we have put in effect purchase limits on at-home Covid-19 testing products in our stores in an effort to help improve inventory,” Emily Mekstan, a spokeswoman for Walgreens, wrote in an email, adding that the limit is four tests.
