Philly is canceling its last COVID-19 test giveaway because it doesn’t have enough kits
“Virtually all of the testing kits have been successfully distributed,” the health department said. The city is ordering more.
The Philadelphia Health Department has canceled its Thursday giveaway of rapid at-home COVID-19 tests at the Waterview Recreation Center in East Germantown, due to most of the city’s supply of kits having been distributed and the difficulty of obtaining new supplies.
The city is still holding its vaccine clinic at the recreation center, located at 5826 McMahon Ave., from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and appointments can be scheduled here.
The Health Department started giving away tests on Saturday with a goal of distributing 24,000 kits, each containing two tests, before Christmas, the agency said in a statement Wednesday night.
“Virtually all of the testing kits have been successfully distributed,” the agency said.
More kits have been ordered by the city.
“COVID-19 testing, especially rapid at-home tests, have been more difficult to secure in recent weeks. Today, several national pharmacy chains announced that they are limiting purchases of rapid at-home test kits due to their own shortages. These shortages are caused or compounded by unprecedented demand for COVID-19 testing,” the agency said.