Lack Of COVID Rapid Tests Frustrates Long Islanders

LONG ISLAND, NY — Suddenly, it felt like March 2020, when the frantic search for Clorox wipes and toilet paper defined our collective days: Walking into pharmacy after pharmacy this week, and even a supermarket or two — there was not a single coronavirus rapid antigen test to be found for miles on Long Island.

And that's not all: Long Islanders desperate to know if they've caught the highly transmissible omicron variant are lining up at walk-in clinics and testing sites, standing for hours in scenes reminiscent of last year's surge.

On Long Island and in areas across the country, rapid test kits are scarce and in many places, simply non-existent, as surging positivity rates, coupled with the perfect storm of the new omicron variant and people desperate to board planes and head off to their holiday plans left stores empty and frustrations bubbling.

The question echoed at counters far and wide: Where are all the home testing kits?

At a Long Island CVS Tuesday night, an employee, clearing anticipating the question, answered the phone with "Hello this is CVS. We are out of COVID tests."

Although Gov. Kathy Hochul has predicted a winter surge for months, according to experts, no one anticipated the omicron variant, which has sent new cases spiraling upward and multiplying at dizzying speeds.

President Joe Biden, addressing the issue Tuesday, said the omicron variant was the reason for the dearth of tests, according to the Financial Times.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday, omicron now accounts for more than 73 percent of new coronavirus cases nationwide; in New York, omicron accounts for more than 90 percent of new cases, according to the CDC. A week ago, the omicron variant accounted for 13 percent of cases in New York and New Jersey.

Biden outlined plans Tuesday.to purchase and distribute 500 million home testing kits, according to Fox News.

"All of a sudden, it was like everybody rushed to the counter. So what I tried to do was meet with the companies and use the Defense Production Act to get a half a billion more tests," Biden said, according to Fox News.

But while Biden said he felt the scarcity of tests was due to the rapidly spreading omicron variant — and some have pointed to shortages of materials and workers across the board — others have urged the federal government to act.

On Monday, during an address by Hochul, who said 10 million over-the-counter kits are coming to New York before the New Year, Kathryn Garcia, director of state operations, said New Yorkers would have 5 million before the New Year and another 5 million in January. About 2 million will be going to the school districts because the goal is for kids to remain in school, she said. Another million tests will be going to the county emergency managers, with 1.6 million tests heading to New York City and 400,000 tests for vaccine sites.

"This is good progress, but we still need more and we need more partnership from the federal government," Garcia said. "We need them to help make sure that there are tests available to anyone who needs it, because we will continue beating the drum that we want you to be able to take personal responsibility and protect your loved ones by knowing whether or not you are positive with COVID, and to stop transmission."

Garcia called upon the federal government to invoke the Defense Production Act, which would allow for private manufacturers to produce more over the counter tests.

Garcia also reminded New Yorkers to make sure their home test kids are CDC or U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved.

Acting Department of Homeland Security Emergency Services Commissioner Jackie Bray said New York was ramping up testing with an eye toward ensuring New Yorkers have myriad ways to access those tests.

"We know that there are long lines, that's because people are doing the right thing, they're seeking a test when they need it to keep each other safe," she said.

Bray reminded that there are more than 1,800 existing testing sites statewide.

Seven new testing locations will open this week, with one in Nassau County, she said.

And also on Monday, Hochul announced a new, online testing portal where New Yorkers can order at-home PCR tests, which will be sent out via overnight mail. People can swab themselves, put the swab in the prepaid envelope, send it back, and have results in 48 hours, Hochul said.

Some, however, feel that the amped up test distribution still won't be enough: According to Vox, between 3 million and 5 million tests might be needed every day by February.

The New York Times reported that in a nation of 330 million, the 500 million tests promised by Biden likely won't even be enough for two tests each, with each test useful only for one day.

On Tuesday, Hochul thanked Biden for his leadership in fighting the nationwide COVID-19 winter surge "and taking comprehensive action against the rapid spread of the Omicron variant."

Biden, she said, is responding to New York's requests for additional personnel to support hospitals and health care systems that are stretched thin, including the deployment of 30 ambulances with staff to upstate areas; new mass testing sites, including the first one to be operational in New York City before Christmas; and rapid tests sent directly to Americans in their homes.

"This is real leadership," Hochul said. "I look forward to our continued partnership with the Biden administration to assist New York State as we fight the winter surge."

On Long Island, the omicron variant is hitting hard: Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said the positivity rate over a seven-day rolling average in Suffolk County was close to 14 percent, a dramatic uptick.

Also, with Long Islanders desperate for home testing kits, Attorney General Letitia James warned against price gouging. A standard BinaxNOW test costs between $14 and $25 for a pack of two tests, but James said her office has gotten reports of some places selling them from $40 to $70 per package.

This article originally appeared on the East Hampton Patch