HOUSTON – It’s been a busy and sometimes frustrating day at COVID testing sites with the holiday surge now leading to a surge in testing at many places.
Some people are waiting in line for hours.
The line for rapid COVID testing on Rogerdale and Westheimer was wrapped around the corner on Monday.
“We saw people at the beginning fighting, people trying to get in line. It seems like every car takes 30 minutes, at least, so we have one hour or two hours in there to go,” said Ivette Oyervides, who was getting a test to travel to Puerto Rico with family.
On the corner of Alabama and Live Oak near Third Ward, you can get COVID test results in 24-hours and there’s usually no line.
“It’s a late Christmas with my family so I just want to make sure I’m not going to spread it. No symptoms, just playing it safe,” said Kevin Altendorf, who was getting a test to travel.
With this latest spike in COVID cases caused by the Omicron variant paired with holiday travel, people have also been searching for at-home testing kits both in-store and online, only to come up empty-handed.
“They are out everywhere. My friends would say this CVS has it or this Walgreens has it, and I would run over there but by the time you’re there, there are no more left,” said Arden Decker who was getting tested to travel.
The company Abbott, which makes the BinaxNOW test kits, said employees have been working around the clock to get more test kits out to stores.
The company is planning to make 70 million rapid tests in January.
Until then, keep searching online.
If you use this website to type in your zip code, it will show you what stores have at-home kits in stock. You can type in your zip code here:
If that doesn’t work, you can search the CVS website for more test kits or go to your local drug store and ask the clerk when the next shipment of kits comes in.
Also, according to experts, unless you’re traveling and need documentation of a negative COVID test, you may not need to get one.
“If you are exposed but you are asymptomatic, unless you are in a specialized field like healthcare, in my opinion, you do not need to go and test yourself,” said Dr. Josh Septimus, Medical Director of Same Day Clinics at Houston Methodist.
Remember, if you cannot get a test for a few days, quarantine and wear a mask.