Demand for COVID-19 home tests could exceed supply as more Americans try to screen themselves before the holiday season. Retail chains like CVS say they have restocked home test supplies. But experts warn that a winter surge could overwhelm inventory.
across the country. And, they note, the U.S. is still far from having the kind of cheap or free widespread testing seen in some European countries that were early adopters of the technology.
“I couldn’t find them for the longest time,” said Denise Weiss, a retired musician in suburban Philadelphia.She was able to snap up six tests online last month and plans to share them with family members, particularly her son and daughter who are traveling home via plane and train for Thanksgiving. Large employers and private universities are also buying up millions of tests. Under the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for large employers, workers who haven’t been vaccinated are supposed to get tested weekly starting in January.