Why are there so few COVID rapid tests available at pharmacies? They say they’re battling the government for limited supply
Canadian pharmacies are facing stiff competition and weeks-long shipping delays as they scramble to procure COVID-19 rapid tests for customers.
Since the Omicron variant began spreading across the country in December, Canadians have flooded local pharmacies and major chains such as Shoppers and Rexall with requests for rapid antigen tests offering self-administered use and speedy results.
Some retailers have reported receiving patchwork shipments from suppliers, while many have been left waiting as governments and major corporations around the world place massive shipping orders with a relatively small pool of manufacturers.
This week, multiple independent pharmacies that receive their supplies from McKesson Corporation, the American pharmaceutical company that owns Rexall, told the Star they each received one shipment of 45 rapid tests in January, which sold out in 24 hours.
Other pharmacy chains, like London Drugs, say they are still waiting on orders for rapid test shipments they placed early in December.
We have no idea when we're going to get them," said Chris Chiew, general manager at London Drugs, based out of Richmond, B.C.
The company placed orders with two rapid test manufacturers based in the United States, BD Veritor and Abbott, intended for delivery early in January. Last week, Chiew said the company was informed it will likely have to wait until early February to receive their supply.
Pharmacies are vying for access to the tests at the same time that governments are securing major deals with manufacturers to source millions of tests.
Last week, Health Canada announced it would deliver 140 million rapid tests to the provinces and territories later this month after securing shipments from a range of manufacturers in Canada, the U.S. and Europe. The provinces and territories are then expected to distribute them freely across their jurisdictions.
The orders Ottawa placed with manufacturers in December to secure those shipments crowded out independent pharmacies seeking tests for consumers and travellers, said Kyro Masseh, owner of Lawlor Pharmacy in Toronto.
And that's OK, to an extent. Ideally these tests should all be for free," Masseh said. But it also means that, for the past several weeks, we've been turning away everybody and anybody that needs a rapid test because we don't have any available."
Pharmacies connected to major chains like McKesson or Loblaw Companies, which owns Shoppers Drug Mart, have a marginal advantage over independent pharmacies due to their partnerships with manufacturers. Some Rexall and Shoppers franchises across Ontario have listed small supplies of rapid tests for $30 to $50, while pharmacies partnered with McKesson received limited boxes of tests last week.
Douglas Brown, owner of Pharmacy Associates of Port Perry, said he received an email from McKesson's corporate office last week informing franchisees that boxes of tests were available to order.
The pharmacy received a box of 45 tests produced by QuickVue, a California-based manufacturer, at a cost of roughly $15 per test, Brown said. But the tests sold out in one day, and McKesson has not made any boxes available since.
That's the most I've paid in the entire pandemic for rapid tests," Brown said.
Retailers are also constrained by limits on licenses to sell rapid tests. Of manufacturers licensed to produce tests in Canada, only a handful create antigen tests that pharmacies can sell to the public.
Kristen Watt, a pharmacist in Saugeen Shores west of Owen Sound, says she has a healthy supply of rapid tests manufactured by BTNX, an international company with a factory in Markham. They can be used in-store to test travellers headed to the U.S., she said, but they cannot be sold to customers for self-administered purposes.
I get five to 10 calls per day from people asking for rapid tests to go see their loved-ones in seniors homes. And I can't give these to them," Watt said.
The province has faced delays of its own while procuring rapid tests. In a statement to the Star on Tuesday, the ministry of health said it is experiencing temporary supply constraints, including delays in shipments from the federal government, which is resulting in a limited supply of rapid tests."
The ministry says it recently received confirmation of 3.5 million rapid tests coming to Ontario from the federal government this week.
The province reported 46 new virus-related deaths on Wednesday, the highest single-day total since February, with 3,448 people in hospital and 505 adults in intensive care.
Jacob Lorinc is a Toronto-based reporter covering business for the Star. Reach him via email: jlorinc@thestar.ca