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SAN DIEGO – With omicron’s COVID-19 variant spread across the country, home testing in the run-up to the holidays is in great demand.
Retail giants Walgreens and CVS announced Tuesday that they are setting purchase limits for COVID-19 test products at home in their stores and online. The effort is largely aimed at improving inventory levels as retailers report “extremely high demand” for the home tests.
Ariana Chadwick, who lives in Chula Vista, said she went to three different Walgreens stores in South Bay on Tuesday before finding an available test at CVS in Southcrest.
“I bought it for $ 9 and I bought it for my mom so she could test it,” said Chadwick.
CVS told FOX 5 that the chain is limiting each purchase to six tests due to the recent surge in demand.
To deal with the swelling variant, President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday 500 million free rapid tests for Americans. His government also plans to step up support for hospitals while highlighting the need for vaccinations and booster vaccinations.
Dr. Phil Febbo, Illumina chief medical officer, said take-away tests are a great way to keep Omicron away from holiday events.
“Do it before you go,” said Febbo. “Do it in the driveway before you get out of your car, before you go into the house, because omicron can show up so quickly. It is important that if you are doing tests to make collecting (safe) do so right before you meet. “
However, if you’re experiencing symptoms, Febbo recommends staying home and taking a diagnostic test in a county or medical facility.
“Diagnostic tests using PCR are more sensitive, which means they can detect the virus when there are very few copies of the virus in a person’s body in the secretions chosen for this test,” he said.
He said it was also a good idea to get tested again in a few days if you test negative for the first time with symptoms.
Click or tap here to see free COVID-19 test locations in San Diego County.
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