Amazon limiting COVID-19 test purchases
As the rapid spread of omicron and the upcoming holidays have put a strain on COVID-19 testing, Amazon has limited how many of the company's at-home tests customers can purchase at a time.
An Amazon spokesperson told The Hill that the company would allow each shopper to purchase 10 of Amazon's at-home PCR tests, adding that the company has "always allowed third party sellers to set their own product quantity limits for COVID-19 tests."
"At this time, similar to other retailers, we are experiencing inventory shortages on some COVID-19 tests due to increased demand," the spokesperson added of the decision. "We are working hard to secure additional COVID-19 test inventory available from our selling partners."
At-home COVID-19 tests from iHealth Labs sold on Amazon were also limited to five tests per customer, CNBC reported.
The self tests have been highly sought-after as in-person test sites are overwhelmed with long lines of people waiting to be tested for the virus. But other stores have already limited how many at-home COVID-19 tests customers can purchase.
"Due to the incredible demand for at-home rapid testing, we put into effect a four-item purchase limit on at-home COVID-19 testing products," Walgreens said on Tuesday, adding that the decision was "in an effort to help improve inventory while we continue to work diligently with our supplier partners to best meet customer demands."
Earlier this week, President Biden announced that his administration would purchase 500 million rapid COVID-19 tests that would be available and free to any American who wants one.
"We've invested $3 billion to expand the number of at-home tests. There are now 20,000 free testing sites across the United States. We made sure that all insurance covers PCR testing, and we're sending out 15 million tests to help people without private insurance," a senior administration official said of the plan.
