A Silverton dad said he spent hours on Wednesday in search of a COVID-19 test for a child, but he said it was no easy task.He said many places were busy, with lines, and some had no appointments.Derek Drifmeyer said he offered to help a friend whose 11-year-old daughter was feeling pretty lousy.Little did he know, it would turn into an hours-long trip for a test."I felt bad for her. We're driving all over town trying to find a place to get a test and she's sick, just wants to be at home resting," Drifmeyer said.He said finding a COVID-19 test for his friend's daughter took more than four hours, starting at about 10 a.m."Went to Walgreens to buy a test. Found out that they were sold out of the take-home tests. Tried to schedule a test with CVS. Every location I tried, it was booked up. Same with Walgreens," Drifmeyer said.After trying an urgent care, where people were waiting in line for a test, Drifmeyer said they were eventually able to get a test at her primary care provider in a garage.The Ohio Department of Health said it is expanding testing as demand soars."We also continue to see rising numbers of Ohioans tested for COVID-19 and increasing positivity rates now hovering at a seven-day average 13.3 percent. Testing is an important strategy to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19. If you're concerned that you might have COVID there are many options for testing," Ohio Chief Medical Officer Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff said. "In addition to being able to get a test at many pharmacies and community providers, we've also partnered with many of our libraries and local health departments, where you can pick up a free, rapid BinaxNOW test, which can be administered from the comfort of your home with the help of a telehealth provider."Vanderhoff said demand for testing is high, so he urged everyone to make sure a test is available by searching a map on the Ohio Coronavirus website to find a provider.At the same time, officials warn that emergency rooms are not for routine testing."We need to be able to provide our community with the very best, efficient and quick care for acute conditions," Premier Health System Chief Medical Officer Dr. Marc Belcastro said.Drifmeyer said the entire COVID-19 situation is frustrating.He said people should wear masks, get vaccinated if they can and keep trying for a test."We were doing well with COVID the numbers were down and people got pretty lax and now they're shooting back up," Drifmeyer said.He also said he recovered from a breakthrough case himself about a month or so ago.Walgreens did not respond to our request for comment.CVS Health told us testing has been in high demand, but stores have been able to keep up with it in most locations.A spokesman told us people can purchase at-home COVID-19 tests over the counter, limited to six per person, or they can be purchased online and delivered to their door in 24 to 48 hours.CVS Health provided this statement to WLWT:"Daily COVID-19 testing volume is currently running ahead of average daily volume year-to-date, and significantly ahead of average daily volume in the second quarter. COVID-19 home test kits are the top-selling item in our stores.We continue to be able to meet the demand for COVID-19 testing in most locations, even with increasing numbers of patients seeking out tests at one of our nearly 5,000 CVS Pharmacy locations across the country offering testing with same day and future day appointments in most geographies. Patients are encouraged to schedule an appointment on CVS.com or the CVS Pharmacy app, where they have the option to seek either a rapid COVID-19 test, with results available within hours, or a COVID-19 test at the pharmacy drive-thru windows. The self-swab collected at the CVS Pharmacy drive-thru window is processed by an independent, third-party lab and those results are generally available within 1-2 days."CVS Health said it has also established a new partnership to expand the availability of at-home COVID-19 testing kits in 7,000 of its stores as of last week.According to CVS Health, it is partnering with Quidel Corporation to make its "non-prescription QuickVue® At-Home OTC COVID-19 Test" available at thousands of locations across the United States and online.CVS said the packages contain two self-administered rapid antigen tests.
A Silverton dad said he spent hours on Wednesday in search of a COVID-19 test for a child, but he said it was no easy task.
He said many places were busy, with lines, and some had no appointments.
Derek Drifmeyer said he offered to help a friend whose 11-year-old daughter was feeling pretty lousy.
Little did he know, it would turn into an hours-long trip for a test.
"I felt bad for her. We're driving all over town trying to find a place to get a test and she's sick, just wants to be at home resting," Drifmeyer said.
He said finding a COVID-19 test for his friend's daughter took more than four hours, starting at about 10 a.m.
"Went to Walgreens to buy a test. Found out that they were sold out of the take-home tests. Tried to schedule a test with CVS. Every location I tried, it was booked up. Same with Walgreens," Drifmeyer said.
After trying an urgent care, where people were waiting in line for a test, Drifmeyer said they were eventually able to get a test at her primary care provider in a garage.
The Ohio Department of Health said it is expanding testing as demand soars.
"We also continue to see rising numbers of Ohioans tested for COVID-19 and increasing positivity rates now hovering at a seven-day average 13.3 percent. Testing is an important strategy to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19. If you're concerned that you might have COVID there are many options for testing," Ohio Chief Medical Officer Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff said. "In addition to being able to get a test at many pharmacies and community providers, we've also partnered with many of our libraries and local health departments, where you can pick up a free, rapid BinaxNOW test, which can be administered from the comfort of your home with the help of a telehealth provider."
Vanderhoff said demand for testing is high, so he urged everyone to make sure a test is available by searching a map on the Ohio Coronavirus website to find a provider.
At the same time, officials warn that emergency rooms are not for routine testing.
"We need to be able to provide our community with the very best, efficient and quick care for acute conditions," Premier Health System Chief Medical Officer Dr. Marc Belcastro said.
Drifmeyer said the entire COVID-19 situation is frustrating.
He said people should wear masks, get vaccinated if they can and keep trying for a test.
"We were doing well with COVID the numbers were down and people got pretty lax and now they're shooting back up," Drifmeyer said.
He also said he recovered from a breakthrough case himself about a month or so ago.
Walgreens did not respond to our request for comment.
CVS Health told us testing has been in high demand, but stores have been able to keep up with it in most locations.
A spokesman told us people can purchase at-home COVID-19 tests over the counter, limited to six per person, or they can be purchased online and delivered to their door in 24 to 48 hours.
CVS Health provided this statement to WLWT:
"Daily COVID-19 testing volume is currently running ahead of average daily volume year-to-date, and significantly ahead of average daily volume in the second quarter. COVID-19 home test kits are the top-selling item in our stores.
We continue to be able to meet the demand for COVID-19 testing in most locations, even with increasing numbers of patients seeking out tests at one of our nearly 5,000 CVS Pharmacy locations across the country offering testing with same day and future day appointments in most geographies. Patients are encouraged to schedule an appointment on CVS.com or the CVS Pharmacy app, where they have the option to seek either a rapid COVID-19 test, with results available within hours, or a COVID-19 test at the pharmacy drive-thru windows. The self-swab collected at the CVS Pharmacy drive-thru window is processed by an independent, third-party lab and those results are generally available within 1-2 days."
According to CVS Health, it is partnering with Quidel Corporation to make its "non-prescription QuickVue® At-Home OTC COVID-19 Test" available at thousands of locations across the United States and online.
CVS said the packages contain two self-administered rapid antigen tests.
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