Most free COVID-19 rapid test kits still sitting behind pharmacy counters in B.C.

Just a few weeks ago, B.C. pharmacies couldn’t keep rapid antigen test kits in stock. Now, most have a healthy supply from the provincial government, but customers don’t seem to want them.

“Even though we prompt them that this is free, they are still skeptical, they don’t want to take it,’ said Raj Rakholiya, the manager of Wilson Pharmacy in Port Coquitlam.

“Maybe they already got COVID, or maybe they think they are immune to it, so they’re not actively thinking about getting tested,” he said.

That’s left Rakholiya with hundreds of tests in storage, and he’s not alone. Only about a third of the 1,560,000 test kits that have been delivered to B.C. pharmacies have been handed out.

Patrick Hsieh, a pharmacist at Pure Integrated Pharmacy, said while there has been demand at some locations in Metro Vancouver, especially those in areas with an older demographic, uptake has been very slow at others.

“I’m surprised not many people want to stock up. Because given the hoarding mentality we had a few years ago, it’s always a good idea to stock up on a product that’s free,” said Hsieh.

Dr. Brian Conway with the Vancouver Infectious Disease Centre says rapid tests play an important role in detecting and interrupting the virus.

“We need to limit the impact of us lifting all of these restrictions, especially if within the next weeks we won’t even have the vaccine passport in place,” Conway said. “So pick them up.”

Rakholiya thinks demand will increase if pharmacists talk to clients about the tests, instead of just keeping them behind the counter for people who ask for them.

“We need to be actively engaged with the clientele,” he said. “With every opportunity we get to engage with them, we are offering them that this is available, use it.”