Before you head to a holiday gathering, it might be a good idea to take a COVID test.

But tests are getting harder to find.

“Right now in Michigan, we are having a large shortage, as they are across the entire nation, for the rapid test,” said Kris Tuchek.

She and Amber Sprague-Rice run Ouch Urgent Care in St. Johns, Michigan. Over the last year, they say they’ve completed over one million covid-19 tests for their community, but now demand is rising even higher.

“A lot of the government agencies, school agencies, large corporations started stockpiling a lot of the rapid tests faster than consumers, everyday users could get their hands on those tests,” said Tuchek.

“So our schools are starting to run out, to be able to do the testing that they were requiring and so then, of course, it’s going to fall back on the private sector,” said Sprague-Rice.

Sprague-Rice and Tuchek say they’re well-stocked, at least for now. Their clinic has a deal with a test supplier.

“They do tell us that stock is running low. But we don’t know, we don’t know when we will totally run out of tests as well,” said Tuchek.

So we checked for ourselves.

According to CVS.com, there are COVID tests available at some stores in most major U.S. cities, just maybe not the one down the street.

The challenge is in rural areas, where you may have to drive an hour or more to find a store with tests in stock.

“You’re going to see this happen for the next month, where everybody wants all these test kits because of the holiday season,” said Jack Buffington.

Buffington runs the supply chain program at the University of Denver. He says there are many aspects to this shortage, but one factor is key.

“Pretty much anything that’s related to medical supplies has had some, encountered some issue because these aren’t normal commodities. These have to be done in. You know this isn’t a plastic toy. This has to have certain levels of sanitation and safety unlike anything else,” he said.

Those factors, combined with labor shortages and delays in overseas shipping, could make this holiday season more difficult for families who want to celebrate together.

It will also be difficult for the doctors and nurses battling a surge in coronavirus cases.

“Our rates are very high, and so it’s looking a lot like last fall to us here in Michigan. Our rates are high, and in the rural areas, our vaccination rates are low, and so we are seeing people getting pretty sick,” said Sprague-Rice

COVINGTON, Ky. —

As the delta variant continues to rise, more people than ever are waiting in line over an hour for something no one really wants – a COVID-19 test.

At the Gravity Diagnostic’s testing site in Covington, cars were lined up though the old IRS parking lot and around the outside of it Monday.

“My granddaughter, she’s not feeling well,” said one woman coming into the drive-through site.

“My daughter, from the school they say she maybe was exposed to some kid with COVID. So, we have to take a test for her,” said another woman in line.

The Gravity site gives the gold standard PCR tests. People usually get results by midnight the same day they took the test.

“I think we’ve all been surprised by how delta has changed things in the last six or eight weeks,” said Gravity Diagnostics CEO Tony Remington. “There’s a lot of peace of mind testing for just people going back to school, back to work, going to a Bengals game, going to a concert.”

Remington said the test sites have been so busy, they’ve opened new drive-through sites at Northern Kentucky University, in Ludlow and at Buttermilk Pike for St. Elizabeth Hospital. Gravity is also opening up several other sites around Kentucky and Indiana.

Take-home COVID-19 test kits are also available over the counter at many drug stores, if you can find them.

The cost is about $24.00, but many stores are sold out right now.

The over-the-counter tests kits are fast, but not as accurate as the PCR tests.

Hamilton County Libraries are also giving free take-home tests as long as the last.

“There are differences in the tests. The take-home tests are considered a screening vs a diagnostic test,” said the Health Collaborative’s Tiffany Mattingly.

Mattingly said the key is keeping people from going to emergency rooms to get a test.

“The prediction of where we’re going to peak is really difficult to anticipate. Right now, we know that we’re still climbing,” Mattingly said.