COVID Tests In VA Are In Short Supply: Here's How To Get One
VIRGINIA — Locations across Virginia are running out COVID-19 test kits as the demand for tests increases from people who want to safely attend holiday gatherings.
Coronavirus cases are surging in the D.C. area as the highly contagious omicron variant moves across the region. Testing sites have long lines, and some pharmacies and libraries have run out of home tests as Christmas approaches.
On Wednesday, Arlington County announced that all library locations are out of stock of COVID-19 test kits. The county said it does not expect additional deliveries of test kits from the Virginia Department of Health until after the new year.
Rapid tests being distributed through Fairfax County libraries are also out of stock, though the county did not say when new shipments from the state may arrive.
At-home testing allows a person to collect a specimen and perform either a molecular or antigen test according to directions provided with the kit. Test results are available in 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the test.
The public should contact their doctor with the test result, especially if it is positive. Information about at-home, self-administered tests can be found on the VDH website.
Virginia recorded 4,437 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday. On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it believes the omicron variant is now the dominant variant across the country.
"We may be through with COVID-19, but COVID-19 is not through with us," State Health Commissioner M. Norman Oliver said in a statement Wednesday.
CDC surveillance data indicated that the omicron variant represented about 73 percent of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. for the week ending Dec. 18, an increase from the week ending Dec. 11. In the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Region 3, which includes Virginia, CDC data indicates Omicron represents 75.8 percent of cases.
More than 87 percent of adults in Virginia have had at least one vaccine dose, and 77.7 percent of adults are fully vaccinated. Of the total population, 67.1 percent are fully vaccinated, according to the VDH.
Layered strategies that have proved effective in mitigating past surges are still effective against omicron, state health officials said Wednesday. Those strategies include getting vaccinated against COVID-19; getting the booster dose; and wearing a mask in public indoor spaces, regardless of vaccination status.
Along with a collaboration with public libraries, the VDH has a partnership with Walgreens to offer free COVID-19 tests, using Abbott BinaxNOW tests, at many stores across the state.
Residents can visit the VDH testing locator, local health department websites, or pharmacy websites to find available tests and appointments. To find free vaccines at a community vaccination center or another location, visit vaccinate.virginia.gov or call 877-VAX-IN-VA (877-829-4682.
More data is still needed to know if omicron infections, and especially reinfections and breakthrough infections in people who are fully vaccinated, cause more severe illness or death than infection with other variants, the VDH said.
The public should get tested if they have any COVID-19 symptoms or have had contact with anyone who has tested positive.
Here are COVID testing options at the local level in Northern Virginia and the Fredericksburg area:
This article originally appeared on the Falls Church Patch
