ST. LOUIS — As Missouri reports record coronavirus numbers, medical suppliers are trying to keep up with the demand for rapid tests.
"Most everybody who is around somebody that tests positive is looking for a test, you know, 'yesterday,'" ArcPoint Labs' Scott Lambert said.
Lambert says they're seeing an increase in people coming to them for coronavirus testing, with an emphasis on the rapid tests.
"Over the last two, three weeks, it seems like the volume of need has gone up significantly, and we're basically not able to help everybody that that would like to come in for a test on their time frame," Lambert said. "For example, tomorrow (Nov. 9). I've already blocked the schedule for tomorrow because we're essentially full for tomorrow."
Lambert says they have the supplies they need for testing but not the manpower.
5 On Your Side talked with one man, who didn't want to identify himself for work reasons, who found the search for a rapid test was anything but rapid.
"I was trying to be patient because my health needs are not any more important than anybody else's," the man said of his 5-hour wait at a Ballwin clinic. "We were waiting in the parking lot an ambulance arrived and took somebody away so clearly people were having worse complications than me. So I was just trying to be patient."
The patient arrived twenty minutes after the clinic opened and was already the 25th person in line for a test. By the time he was called in, he said staff told him they were out of rapid tests for the day.
On their website, Total Access Urgent Care has this message: "Due to national shortages, rapid COVID-19 viral testing is intermittently available. We are working hard to secure more supplies and to expand rapid testing availability for our patients."
5 On Your Side also contacted the St. Louis Metropolitan Task Force about supply levels. They monitor the resources at area hospitals and haven't heard of any supply issues.
Lambert says they are considering scaling up their operations which would require hiring temporary employees and potentially extending hours.
In the meantime, patients say they're testing their patience.
