Amazon limits Covid test kit purchases amid Omicron wave
Amazon has announced a limit to the number of at-home Covid test kits per customer as demand surges amid a rise in cases since the discovery of the Omicron variant. Walgreens and CVS also introduced purchase limits.
Online retail giant Amazon revealed on Wednesday that the company and its vendors are experiencing inventory shortages for Covid tests as demand rises amid more people traveling for the holidays. Purchases will now be limited to 10 tests per shopper.
Testing kits sold through vendors have also been capped, though these decisions are made by the third-party sellers, Amazon said.
A surge in home testing for Covid infections amid Omicron fears has also led to Walgreens and CVS putting purchase caps on such kits. Shortages across the nation also led to President Joe Biden announcing recently that the federal government would be investing in making 500 million testing kits available to the public.
Walgreens announced this week that customers are limited to four test kits each, while CVS has capped purchases at six per customer.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky urged calm in a Wednesday interview when addressing the latest coronavirus variant, which she says has a “rapid” rate of transmission.
“We have vaccines. We have boosters, and we have all the science that demonstrates the prevention interventions like masking in indoor settings work to mitigate the spread of this virus,” she said, adding there “is really no need to panic.”
Omicron was first identified by scientists in South Africa last month and has since been confirmed in multiple countries, including the US, where it has become the dominant coronavirus strain.
