Tonawanda, N.Y. (WBEN) "I have no idea what the next six months will bring." Brighton Eggert pharmacy owner Don Arthur telling WBEN. The summer has been quiet, with respect to COVID-19. But forecasting the fall and winter is difficult.
"We're testing about 300 people a month. Most of those are PCR lab tests
that are required for surgical procedures."
The BA-5 variant is in the community. But most people only experience cold-like symptoms.
"I decided last year to keep our drive-thru testing open. It's easy for me. It's adjacent to our community pharmacy. Our philosophy has been the same. It remains open, but it's been quiet. We'll have to see what the fall and winter brings," he added.
Another factor in COVID-19 testing is the saturation of home test kits that are available.
"In December of 2021, President Biden asked health care providers, and community pharmacies to offer COVID tests and have insurance companies cover them. Since January of '22," Arthur said, "we have provided 14-thousand home tests."
Every person with insurance is able to get eight home COVID-19 tests per-family member per-month.
Something that concerns the pharmacist, is that he is required to provide all test results to the state within 24 hours, to help Erie County monitor how much COVID-19 is in the community. "But with all of these home tests out there, I feel that most people who are home testing, are probably not reporting, even though there is an online self-reporting portal," said Arthur.
Is COVID-19 something that is going to be around, like a cold or the flu?
Flu season comes and flu season goes each year. Arthur often hears friends and family say that they're healthy and have never had the flu. "Vaccinating against the flu and vaccinating against COVID, is not just for the individual. It's to protect the community, including the immune compromised and the elderly."
Arthur said the real factor going forward is hospitalizations. "COVID has mutated several times. The variant that we're seeing now, while contagious, is mild and hospitalization rates are low. We need to continue to watch that," he said.
Brighton Eggert Pharmacy recently began antibody testing. "We are partnering with KSL Labs, which is FDA approved for an antibody test which gives you a COVID-19 immune index. We don't need a vial of blood. We do a finger prick test and take droplets of blood and place them on a card. Within 48 hours, the patient receives an email from KSL with an antibody number. If it's below 20 , they are considered at moderate or high risk. If it's above 20, they're at low risk.
This helps to answer the question of "should I get another vaccine?," said Arthur.
"I'm a strong believer in the value of vaccines in our community. But we don't want to be over-vaccinated," he said.
