Walgreens, CVS, Amazon Limit COVID-19 Tests For FL Shoppers

Deb Belt
·2 min read

FLORIDA — With the nation experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases linked to the holidays, pharmacies including Walgreens and CVS are seeing an unprecedented demand for related testing and vaccine services and products.

The company has instituted a four-item purchase limit on at-home COVID-19 testing products in its Florida stores and online.

CVS followed suit with its own policy, allowing customers to purchase five at-home COVID-19 tests.

And online retailer Amazon said individual shoppers can buy no more than 10 of its at-home PCR test kits, NBC News reported.

During the pandemic, Florida has had a total of 3.86 million confirmed COVID cases, according to the New York Times. Infection rates have soared in the state this month, with 2,906 COVID cases on Dec. 1 in the state, up to 31,683 new cases on Dec. 24.

The state has recorded a total of 62,347 deaths, with a daily average of 22 deaths per day as of Dec. 25.

On Sunday, there were 2,007 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Florida, an increase of 44 percent over the past 14 days, the newspaper reported.

An Amazon spokesperson told CNBC the online retailer has shortages of some COVID tests due to increased demand, and is working to secure more tests.

CVS said last week the pharmacy had set a limit of six test kits per purchase both in stores and online, the New York Times reported. The company said kits sold online might become temporarily out of stock as it tries to make them available in its 4,800 stores to meet demand.

You can find vaccination sites throughout Florida by clicking here.

Click here for Florida testing sites.

And click here for a list of antibody treatment sites.

Just type in the city or county closest to you for a list of facilities.

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Walgreens is hoping the purchase limit will improve inventory and said it will continue to work with supplier partners to meet customer demands.

"We remain committed to meeting the needs of our customers and patients and are doing all we can to support our communities during this critical time," said John Standley, Walgreens president, in a news release. "With heightened demand for COVID vaccines, testing and other services, in addition to the busy holiday season, our pharmacy and store team members are working incredibly hard every day."

Walgreens anticipates a turnaround time of 24 to 48 hours for COVID-19 PCR test results. Rapid point-of-care tests are also available and results will continue to be available in less than 24 hours, according to the company.

This article originally appeared on the St. Pete Patch