MACON, Ga. — Supply chain shortages have caused a lot of items to become scarce at the store this year, and now you can add at-home COVID tests to the list.
Many more people than expected have rushed to stores to get test kits with holiday gatherings and the Omicron surge.
Chichester's Homecare in Macon is already sold out of at-home COVID testing kits, and they don't expect to get more until the beginning of the new year.
Rocquale Jones and her husband made a four-hour trip from Tallahassee, Florida.
"I'm very excited because I was like 'You have these tests.' The places that we went... no one has offered it to us, no one has really talked about it, so this was the first place and the fact that they had them available, we want to take advantage of it," Jones said.
The Jones' made a special order for the COVID at-home testing kit.
"We all know [about] having to stand in long lines to get tests done, so now being able to do it in the comfort of your own home, to me it's going to bring a lot more safety for everyone," she said.
Jones made sure to get the home tests for her whole family of 10.
"We will be able to make sure that we are safe and if somebody is positive [then] we will be able to do a proper quarantining without infecting anybody else," she said.
Dr. Jennifer Hoffman, an infectious disease physician with Piedmont Medical Center, explains how these tests should be ideally used.
"[You] would be testing yourself pretty close to daily if you'll be interacting with people outside your immediate family. Practically speaking, these tests are expensive and are in short supply, so I don't think any of us are doing that," said Hoffman.
For Jones, it's about taking that extra precaution.
"It's getting colder, more people are traveling, and we have the holiday coming upon us. We just want to make sure that we are safe and that we can all go into 2022 having a better year than 2021," she said.
Chichester's store manager, Wendy Williams, says if you want an at-home COVID-19 testing kit they are taking special orders for them now.
Last week, President Joe Biden announced the government will buy 500 million tests for Americans and distribute them free of charge, but it will be a bit longer until we see those tests on our doorstep.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the Department of Defense, and Health and Human Services are completing an accelerated emergency contract with test makers.
She says the first delivery is expected in early January, but all 500 million kits will arrive in batches and not at one time.
Once they're available, you will be able to request a kit on a government website. It will be live once tests are available.
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