Retailers put buying limits on COVID test kits as travelers rush to test before holidays

COVID testing lines long amid shortage of at-home kits

Josh Cascio reports

TAMPA, Fla. - With Christmas now only days away, thousands of Floridians are looking to gather with confidence, but some stores have just announced they will impose a purchase limit on at-home COVID-19 testing products. This comes as demand for testing has increased.

Those large retailers include CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart.

On Wednesday morning, a FOX 13 crew checked Tampa's CVS Pharmacy location on South Howard Avenue and found the store had plenty of test kits in stock, but that they were being held behind the front counter and unavailable on shelves to control supplies.

CVS pharmacies are now limiting sales of test kits to six per person. The chain said on its website that products might temporarily be out of stock as it prioritizes inventories at its stores.

Some stores limiting at-home COVID test sales

Matthew McClellan reports

READ: What restaurants are open on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day 2021

Walgreens said on Tuesday it is limiting both online and in-store purchases of test kits to four per customer. The company also said it is working with suppliers to catch up with demand.

Walmart is setting a limit of eight tests for each online order but is allowing its physical stores to set their own limits depending on inventory levels.

Omicron becomes dominant strain as COVID cases rise in Florida

Demand for COVID-19 tests is rising just as the holidays approach and the omicron variant becomes the dominant strain in the US, infecting people who were already vaccinated or even got boosted.

MORE: Between holidays and omicron, demand for COVID testing jumps

At Hillsborough County’s testing site in West Tampa, which offers tests, vaccines, boosters and antibody treatments (by reservation only), the line for testing wrapped around the building Wednesday.

"Seeing my family I just want to make sure everything is good to go, not putting anyone at risk," said Jessica Hudson, who got tested at the facility Wednesday. "I think it is better to be in the know even if the results weren’t what you were hoping for."

The Hillsborough site tested more than 1,000 people on Monday and more than 1,500 on Tuesday.

Wednesday they surpassed 1,000 by 1 p.m.

Doctor's tips for gathering safely this holiday

Medical experts say this holiday is not the time to let your guard down. So here are three simple ways to keep the COVID risk low as you celebrate with your family.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration said Tuesday that it would buy 500 million at-home rapid tests that it will send to Americans for free, starting in January. Unfortunately for holiday travelers, the free at-home tests will come too late.

Omicron quickly became the dominant strain in the U.S. by mid-December, pouring cold water on hopes for a more normal holiday season, bringing back restrictions and stretching the country's testing infrastructure amid holiday travel and gatherings.

In the U.S., omicron accounted for 73% of new infections last week, health officials said — and the variant is responsible for an estimated 90% or more of new infections in the New York area, the Southeast, the industrial Midwest, and the Pacific Northwest.

Confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.K. have surged by 60% in a week as omicron overtook delta as the dominant variant there. Worldwide, the variant has been detected in at least 89 countries, according to the World Health Organization.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

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