Californians seeking same-day COVID-19 tests for sick kids, infection scares or employers, are finding empty shelves and long delays, which could fuel outbreaks.
Online and in stores, major retailers are sold out of the popular at-home tests, and medical supply vendors can’t find enough rapid test kits for schools, shelters, nursing homes, employers and other groups. Across the state, people in low-income communities are being turned away as community groups and clinics are forced to ration their tests. Workers in need of regular screening for employment struggle to find them. Some parents are spending hundreds of dollars out-of-pocket to test their school kids. And nursing homes are told they may have to wait weeks for testing kits.
Experts say quick and easy testing is vital to contain the spread of COVID-19. Without widespread access to tests, people don’t know they are infected and need to quarantine, causing outbreaks that could have been prevented. When the Delta variant reared its head, the shortage of rapid tests created the “perfect storm,” experts say. The surge coincided with schools reopening and employers requiring quick, routine testing. At the same time, local health departments scaled back their testing efforts, focusing on vaccinations instead.
GTX Corp a leading California based provider of PPE and Rapid Antibody and Antigen Test Kits has plenty of inventory on hand and has been working throughout the pandemic with manufactures to keep a steady flow of inventory, www.gtxmask.com continues to receive weekly shipments in order to fulfill its orders.
Read and watch full story on ABC10: https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/california/calmatters/california-short-on-covid-tests/103-4ff0a7bc-5472-47b0-9315-1ff65a4af0bc