Strong demand at pharmacies, supermarkets for antigen test kits

There have been widespread reports of pharmacies and supermarkets being unable to meet unprecedented demand for antigen test kits throughout the State over the recent holiday period. Local reports indicated that supermarkets and pharmacies in south and west county Dublin, for instance, had run out of supplies by New Year’s Day.

According to the Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU), which represents more than 2,200 pharmacists in Ireland, "supplies of antigen tests are running out in most pharmacies and other retailers. It's not just an Irish problem: there is an emerging shortage of antigen tests across the world, including in UK, Europe, US and Australia. "

IPU secretary general Darragh O'Loughlin said "we've been in touch with all the main suppliers of tests to Irish pharmacies this morning. All are out of stock, but most are expecting to be resupplied either this week or early next week."

It was also the case that “pharmacists have reported to us that the prices of the tests, which had fallen considerably in December, have begun to creep up as supply has gotten tighter,” he said.

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A spokesman for Boots, which runs 89 pharmacies in the State, said that “in recent weeks we have seen a sharp uplift in demand for self-administered or at-home antigen tests which has caused temporary availability issues in some of our stores. We are working closely with suppliers and hope to have stock replenished in affected stores in the coming week.”

Where Lidl’s more than 160 outlets across Ireland were concerned, a spokeswoman said “sales are strong so supply may be limited in a few areas however we have another half a million of the Boson kits in stores from Tuesday, so there should be improved availability”.

At SuperValu’s 223 outlets a spokesman confirmed they were “experiencing significant demand from customers for antigen tests and will be receiving deliveries to restock supply in the coming days”.

A spokeswoman for Tesco confirmed that they too have seen "an increase in demand for antigen tests over recent days" at their 151 outlets in Ireland. She continued, however, that "overall availability is good with enough stock to go round. In any of our stores where there has been a short delay on restocking shelves, we have worked with our suppliers to get these back as quickly as possible."

To ensure availability they “continue to operate a product limit of 10 per customer in stores and online, where stocks allow”, she said.

Meanwhile, the Boots spokesman also said that they have introduced an in-store rapid antigen testing service at its outlets for customers without symptoms. This is in response to the reopening of international travel and the launch of the EU Digital Covid Certificate, where a cert can be issued for a negative antigen test result.

Results from its in-store rapid antigen testing service are available the same day and typically within an hour. The test is priced at €35. Where available, self-administered or at-home antigen tests from Boots are priced at €19.99 for a pack of five and a single test kit is available for €3.99.