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Local, national pharmacies see spike in demand for at-home COVID tests

CVS and Walgreens are limiting purchases, while local pharmacies are having trouble keeping the tests in stock.

INDIANAPOLIS — If you're having trouble getting your hands on an at-home COVID test, you're not alone. 

Independent and national pharmacies are having trouble keeping pace with demand for at-home COVID tests.

CVS and Walgreens are now limiting customer purchases. Local pharmacists like John Cowan with Cowan Drugs and Parkside Pharmacy said people are constantly calling for the tests.

"All at once with the numbers going up, we're selling them left and right," Cowan said. "We can't keep them in stock."

Cowan said he's now getting a new shipment of tests every three or four days.

In Brownsburg, Julie Acra, owner of Blue River Pharmacy, only had one $36 rapid at-home test left when 13News spoke to her Tuesday afternoon.

"We sold 12 of them in the first hour that we were open," Acra said. "This is the last one that we have and we're saving it for somebody."

She said only one of the four wholesalers she works with are stocking and shipping tests right now.

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It's a nationwide issue. CVS said Tuesday it's limiting online and in-store purchases to six tests per customers. The pharmacy chain offers five different types of at home tests.

CVS sent the following statement to 13News:

We continue to work around the clock to provide our stores with inventory of the five over-the-counter at-home COVID-19 tests we offer: Abbott BinaxNOW, Acon FlowFlex, Quidel Quickvue, Ellume, and Pixel by LabCorp.

To ensure equitable access to tests both in store and digitally, we've added a limit of six test kits per purchase. Due to a recent surge in demand, and to retain community-based access to tests in our stores, there may be temporary out-of-stocks for these products on CVS.com.

We're committed to providing families with protection and peace of mind during the holiday season, and we continue to offer access to lab-based testing with results available in 1-2 days or rapid COVID-19 testing at more than 4,800 CVS Pharmacy locations.

Walgreens is limiting sales to four at-home tests per customer. The pharmacy chain is also working to expand testing capacity in reduce turnaround time for results. The company released a statement to 13News Tuesday:

We have been working closely with our lab partners to expand testing capacity while minimizing turnaround times for test results. We anticipate 24 to 48 hour turnaround time for COVID-19 test results.   

Due to the incredible demand for at-home rapid testing, we put in effect a four item purchase limit on at-home COVID-19 testing products in our stores and digital properties in an effort to help improve inventory while we continue to work diligently with our supplier partners to best meet customer demands. We refer you to manufacturers for questions on supply of individual products. 

Pharmacists said demand spiked after Thanksgiving, when new COVID cases climbed.

Next month, it should be easier to get the tests when the Biden administration says it will start sending them to American's homes for free. However, that will happen after the holidays.

Pharmacists said the demand is high now because people are planning to see family and friends. They’re also seeing an increase in respiratory-type infections, which can present similar to COVID.

MORE: How at-home COVID tests work

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