(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Chances are you won’t find any over-the-counter COVID-19 tests at your local pharmacy.
“Two or three weeks ago, you could pretty much find testing readily available anywhere you went. Now we've reached crunch time and the shelves are clear of these at-home tests,” Dr. Mia Taormina, chair of the infectious disease department at Duly Health and Care, said Monday.
As COVID case numbers rise and holiday gathering plans are underway, both at-home and PCR tests are harder to come by.
Dr. Taormina tells WBBM Duly Health and Care’s rapid COVID test site is administering close to 1,000 tests per day.
“That's an astronomical ask of trying to get that many people put through a testing site,” she said. “It's on par, essentially, with what we saw during peaks last year at this time.”
Some suburban testing sites have experienced up to four hours of wait time.
Others have cars wrapped around the block.
Taormina says the demand for testing will get worse before it gets better, in part because people will want to get tested three to five days after gathering for the holidays.
“The reality is we're going to run out of supplies,” she said.
Her advice to people looking to safely gather this holiday season? They might try ordering online from major chains such as Walgreens and picking up the kits at a designated store.