Short Supply Of At-Home COVID Tests Due To Holiday Surge

Oklahomans all over the state opting to go to testing sites due to a shortage and low supply of at-home rapid tests.

At-home COVID tests are now flying off the shelves in all major drugstores and pharmacies. They are all sold out online.

The Oklahoma State Department of Health said this is not surprising, especially after people have been traveling and participating in gatherings over the holidays.

“We knew that would happen,” said Keith Reed, interim health commissioner. “ People are returning from spending time with family or going back to work.”

The higher case count is also due to the omicron variant quickly spreading across the state and country.

Reed said he wants to remind Oklahomans that despite shortages from major chains, people often forget that there are statewide resources at our disposal.

“There are other testing options, including your local health department,” Reed said. “A lot of the same pharmacies may not have the off the shelf ones, they may still have them through a drive-thru setting or another setting within their facility.”

President Joe Biden also acknowledged the issue Monday and stated the government will be supplying half a billion COVID-19 rapid test kits and distributing them free of charge. However, that won't be rolling out until January 2022

The health department said they're working to get several hundred thousand tests into the state this week, bringing some needed relief to Oklahomans.

To schedule testing, please visit https://www.occhd.org/okctestsites or https://osdh.immytech.com/.