Rapid At-Home Tests - Could Be a Tough Find Soon

[At Sea At Peace]

 

A little leaking prior to the national address on Covid @ 5 tonight has a number of items, one which is current to the cruisers; the two monitored at-home kits such as the Abbotts BinNax NOW kit.  These are also offered via many outlets over the counter without the "monitoring" aspect and sans the documentation for the cruise lines.

 

If the US is, as expected (per the WSJ), to order $2 BILLION worth of these "rapid point of care" and "over-the-counter" at-home kits, it's likely going to have to muster up some added production.  I guess there is the Defense Production Act.

 

Just and FYI and a 'heads up' for those who need and want the 'monitored' (for cruising) or 'OTC self test' at-home Covid tests.

[livingonthebeach]

Is this a stock tip or a go-out-and-buy-kits-before-they’re-all-gone tip?

[At Sea At Peace]

1 minute ago, livingonthebeach said:

Is this a stock tip or a go-out-and-buy-kits-before-they’re-all-gone tip?

 

LOL.

 

Get your order in for the "monitored" kits.

 

Get your OTC kits you desire for other purposes ASAP.

 

 

Edited September 9, 2021 by At Sea At Peace

[PTC DAWG]

Leave it to the Govt to create a shortage…

[livingonthebeach]

Just now, At Sea At Peace said:

 

LOL.

 

Get your order in for the "monitored" kits.

 

Get your OTC kits you desire for other purposes ASAP.

 

Luckily as of now, in my area, there is an abundance of free and fast results testing sites so no need to fork over extra $$$ for a cruise, IMO.  I would rather use the funds for a nice excursion.

[At Sea At Peace]

1 minute ago, livingonthebeach said:

 

Luckily as of now, in my area, there is an abundance of free and fast results testing sites so no need to fork over extra $$$ for a cruise, IMO.  I would rather use the funds for a nice excursion.

 

Well, I guess you wouldn't be one of those who want the kits?  😀

 

However, if your "local FREE and FAST" are currently in an abundance, consider the following ~

 

"The expansive rules mandate that all employers with more than 100 workers require them to be vaccinated or test for the virus weekly, affecting about 80 million Americans."

 

[livingonthebeach]

2 minutes ago, At Sea At Peace said:

 

Well, I guess you wouldn't be one of those who want the kits?  😀

 

However, if your "local FREE and FAST" are currently in an abundance, consider the following ~

 

"The expansive rules mandate that all employers with more than 100 workers require them to be vaccinated or test for the virus weekly, affecting about 80 million Americans."

 

 

Thanks — I was hoping my Abbott stock would go up — not today — maybe tomorrow? 🤣

[At Sea At Peace]

3 minutes ago, livingonthebeach said:

 

Thanks — I was hoping my Abbott stock would go up — not today — maybe tomorrow? 🤣

 

We'll see.   GLTY.

 

My point was, as we are averaging just around 1.5M "tests per day" on the 7-day average, the infusion of tens and tens of millions of "weekly tests" (each and every week), appears to be a daunting blow to supply and demand in the short-term.

 

 

[ReneeFLL]

11 minutes ago, At Sea At Peace said:

 

Well, I guess you wouldn't be one of those who want the kits?  😀

 

However, if your "local FREE and FAST" are currently in an abundance, consider the following ~

 

"The expansive rules mandate that all employers with more than 100 workers require them to be vaccinated or test for the virus weekly, affecting about 80 million Americans."

 

Those 80 million Americans will most likely be using the cheaper unmonitered OTC test kits.

[At Sea At Peace]

17 minutes ago, ReneeFLL said:

Those 80 million Americans will most likely be using the cheaper unmonitered OTC test kits.

 

@ReneeFLL  I don't know if those will be accepted by employers (federal or private).  We'll see.

 

Also, the 'actual test kits' I believe are the "same" as those used for the monitored (procedure for the certificate / documentation).  We have both and they are exactly the same.

 

[Sunshine3601]

32 minutes ago, At Sea At Peace said:

 

@ReneeFLL  I don't know if those will be accepted by employers (federal or private).  We'll see.

 

Also, the 'actual test kits' I believe are the "same" as those used for the monitored (procedure for the certificate / documentation).  We have both and they are exactly the same.

 

Yes, they are exactly the same test and for whatever reasons seems like you can only order the proctored ones online.   I wonder why that is.

[jk04]

8 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Yes, they are exactly the same test and for whatever reasons seems like you can only order the proctored ones online.   I wonder why that is.

Maybe to guarantee that the test was not opened prior to actual testing.  Or, to minimize possible tampering or opening of the test. Who knows what goes through their minds sometimes.  Seems they could put it behind lock and key like they do Sudafed if that is a concern....

[Sunshine3601]

10 minutes ago, jk04 said:

Maybe to guarantee that the test was not opened prior to actual testing.  Or, to minimize possible tampering or opening of the test. Who knows what goes through their minds sometimes.  Seems they could put it behind lock and key like they do Sudafed if that is a concern....

that would make more sense than shipping them since they are temperature sensitive and not everyone can be home when they are delivered.  

[SRF]

Let's see, it seems ALL the proctored test kits were produced in or around Dec 2020, and none since then, how do you ramp up a zero production rate??

 

It seems they made a LOT of them.

[2flacruisers]

I bought the monitored test kits as a back-up and will use them if nothing else is available prior to our cruise.

[BensonFan711]

What's the expiration date like on those kits?  My cruise is at the end of October, so I don't want to buy too early, but if it's good beyond then, it's one more thing to check off the list.

[gmerick]

I am not worried about the supply of at-home test kits.  The proctored tests are far too expensive for the one-person, one-test-kit method to even be considered for mass testing of even a 100 person small business where's there is likely 15 people being tested weekly.  Mass testing will probably be conducted much like the RT_PCR test that I received at a hotel in Belize prior to returning to the US.  We had 11 people scheduled for the test the day prior to our return flight the next day.  The med-tech collected samples from each, and then returned to the lab.  The lab's web site indicated they had a RT_PCR medical device that tested up to 96 samples at a time, and returned results in under an hour.  This same lab did concierge testing at a number of Belize hotels so vacationers could comply with US transportation requirements.  

If I can remember how the math works, the medical device mass tests are only a tenth the cost of the single test BinaxNow AG tests.  

[At Sea At Peace]

54 minutes ago, BensonFan711 said:

What's the expiration date like on those kits?  My cruise is at the end of October, so I don't want to buy too early, but if it's good beyond then, it's one more thing to check off the list.

 

There is 24 page document and a 10 page document.  Some might know why?  

 

https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/static/binax-now/COVID-19-Ag-Card-Product-Expiry-Update.pdf

 

https://testing.covid19.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/332/2021/06/Binax_Expiry_Update_March2021.pdf

 

I have a 3rd 10 page document with different lots?

 

C Test Exp Dates.pdf

 

I know some others have been over this (these lists) so hopefully they might chime in.

 

Edited September 10, 2021 by At Sea At Peace

[orville99]

19 hours ago, At Sea At Peace said:

 

Well, I guess you wouldn't be one of those who want the kits?  😀

 

However, if your "local FREE and FAST" are currently in an abundance, consider the following ~

 

"The expansive rules mandate that all employers with more than 100 workers require them to be vaccinated or test for the virus weekly, affecting about 80 million Americans."

 

The mechanism that was proposed was to execute this through OSHA, which will require “rule making”. That process will take 6-9 months to work its way through the federal bureaucratic processes.

Edited September 10, 2021 by orville99

[Tinkbelle87]

42 minutes ago, At Sea At Peace said:

 

There is 24 page document and a 10 page document.  Some might know why?  

 

https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/static/binax-now/COVID-19-Ag-Card-Product-Expiry-Update.pdf

 

https://testing.covid19.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/332/2021/06/Binax_Expiry_Update_March2021.pdf

 

I have a 3rd 10 page document with different lots?

 

C Test Exp Dates.pdf 318.06 kB · 1 download

 

I know some others have been over this (these lists) so hopefully they might chime in.

 

One of the differences between the 3rd document and the others is the part number. The top two are for part numbers 195-000 and the bottom is for 195-200. As to why there are multiple letters for the same part number, my guess is these letters were sent out to various vendors so they may have received different lots.

Edited September 10, 2021 by Tinkbelle87

[jk04]

7 hours ago, BensonFan711 said:

What's the expiration date like on those kits?  My cruise is at the end of October, so I don't want to buy too early, but if it's good beyond then, it's one more thing to check off the list.

I got mine late last month with an original expiry date of 10/15/2021.  With the extension based on the Lot Nbr, it is now good through 01/15/2022.  Hope that helps.  

[At Sea At Peace]

Is anyone having a harder time finding these at-home test kits?  I've heard reports on news reports, but already have a staggered (expiration date) supply for our own use.