COVID-19 Tests In Short Supply: How To Find One In Illinois

ILLINOIS — With COVID-19 cases skyrocketing across the state, so is demand for coronavirus tests.

Health officials have stressed the importance of testing to limit the spread of the virus over the holidays, and the state is now performing an average of 200,000 tests per day, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. But at-home tests are increasingly in short supply, and residents are waiting in long lines for tests performed at hospitals, doctors offices and pharmacies.

Walgreens, on Wednesday, announced a limit of four for at-home tests purchased in-store or online. CVS followed suit with its own 5-test limit.

Walgreens' website no longer lists which locations have tests in-stock, but asks customers to "visit your store to see if it's available." Most Chicago-area stores had few or no available appointments for in-store or drive-through testing. Walmart's website, too, was showing that tests are “not available at this store” across the suburbs.

RELATED: IL Sees Most COVID-19 Hospitalizations Of 2021 As Omicron Surges

President Joe Biden laid out a plan Tuesday to combat the spread of the virus across the country by shipping Americans millions of free at-home tests — despite his press secretary mocking the idea just weeks earlier. Health experts praised the turnaround, but some said the tests — which won't ship until January — will come too late to stop the spread of the virus over the holidays.

Eric Topol, a professor of molecular medicine at The Scripps Research Institute, called the plan "totally inadequate."

"We need several billion of these [tests], and have needed them for over a year to help prevent spread, as validated and relied upon in many countries throughout the world," he wrote in an essay published Tuesday. "It’s good that the Administration has finally responded to the loud voices of frustration but it’s an exemplar of too little, too late."

To find an at-home test near you, try these local pharmacies:

• COSTCO
• CVS
• Hy-Vee
• Jewel-Osco
• Kroger
• Mariano's
• Meijer
• Sam's Club
• Walgreens
• Walmart

This website tracking online test availability is another good bet. Or, to find on-site testing in Illinois, visit coronavirus.illinois.gov/testing-sites.

Let us know in the comments if you were able to find a test, or how long your wait was for on-site testing.