People in Sudbury say free COVID-19 rapid test kits are hard to come by

Along with an increase in colds and the flu across northern Ontario this fall; pharmacies are seeing a bump in people searching, unsuccessfully, for rapid antigen COVID-19 tests to take at home.

In Sudbury, Ont., Lucio Fabris was one of them.

He recently went on the hunt for a test for his wife who had been exposed to COVID-19.

They were expecting a grandchild and they didn't want to spread the virus to vulnerable family members. 

"With the potential onset of our daughter delivering, and an infant, then other people around us, elderly, that we are in contact with, to know and be assured that we weren't in a spot where she would be passing it on to others that might be compromised, it becomes like confidence factor," said Fabris.

He said they searched pharmacies and the public health unit to no avail, only finding an outdated test at one pharmacy.

After checking the manufacturer's website, they decided they would take the small risk of a false negative and used the expired test kit.

Fabris said his wife did not become ill.

But he thinks free tests should still be available, to allow people to know whether they have COVID-19 or something else, in order to seek appropriate treatment.

Ken Burns is a community pharmacist in the Greater Sudbury community of Lively. He said his pharmacy ran out of the publicly funded tests sometime during the summer.

Since the fall, he said he's been getting dozens of requests a week for rapid antigen tests.

"As the weather gets colder that increases the risk for flu and COVID," he said. "So people are wanting to check to make sure that they don't have the disease and if they do they can isolate and or take medication if needed."

Burns said even if he still had free tests, they'd now be expiring

He said he's turned to ordering tests from a wholesaler to meet demand but they're not always available because of back orders, and whgen they are available, customers grumble at having to pay the 20 dollar cost.

He understands their point of view and would still like to see the province provide publicly funded tests.

"Maybe it's just pandemic fatigue from everybody, but I still think it's good to keep testing just to make sure you don't infect other people or make things worse for yourself," he said.

Public Health Sudbury and Districts has also run out of rapid antigen tests.

Katie Junkin is a specialist on the infectious diseases team.

She said if people do have some expired tests in a drawer, there is a way to check if they're still usable.

"I would recommend to community members that you do look up those test kits by the manufacturer, as many kits actually have extended expiration dates," she said. "You would need to look up the kit by the manufacturer as well as the lot number."

Junkin said tests are still a good tool but says in their absence, people with symptoms of respiratory illness should still take the usual precautions of masking and isolating as much as possible.

She does hold out some hope that the Ontario Ministry of Health may bring back publicly funded tests.

"It was noted that kits may be replenished by the end of the month, so if they are available to our health unit we will certainly make note of that to the public," she said.

In a statement, the Ministry of Health maintains that those eligible for COVID-19 testing can still access publicly-funded rapid antigen tests through pharmacies or their family physician.

A spokesperson said that supply is currently being distributed to partners.