Rapid tests squirrelled away in a warehouse? B.C.'s top doctor addresses online rumour

Update: Chalk it up to semantics. Dr. Bonnie Henry told a news conference it was an “urban myth” that millions of COVID-19 rapid tests were sitting unused in a warehouse somewhere in the province. Turns out the number isn’t millions, but closer to 1.3 million.

Despite a table from the federal government suggesting potentially millions of tests destined for British Columbia remain unused, the province's top doctor says it's untrue that the much-desired rapid tests are sitting in a warehouse somewhere.

Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.'s provincial health officer, was asked at a news conference Wednesday about rumours that there was a hoard of unused tests that could be used while capacity is maxed out.

"That is an urban myth," she said.

With the highly-transmissible Omicron variant spreading around the province, guidance for PCR tests has changed, leaving many without the knowledge of whether their more mild symptoms are just a cold or COVID-19.

The priority for testing in B.C. is now given to those considered high risk, and some not in that category have waited hours in line, hoping for certainty. Unlike in other provinces, rapid tests have been hard to get for those looking for answers, prompting some speculation as to where the tests allocated to B.C. from the federal government wound up.

According to data from the federal government, Canada purchased more than 112 million units of rapid tests, then deployed them across the country.

Online, information posted on Dec. 17 suggests 3,399,612 were destined for British Columbia, but only 1,261,098 were actually deployed, and just 326,019 have been used, based on what's been reported to Health Canada.

That data is weeks old, however, and the website said there's been a delay in reporting on the deployment, though it also claims the numbers listed are "updated regularly."

Speaking to media Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised 140 million rapid tests will be sent across the country this month.

So where are the tests unused tests mentioned by Health Canada?

Dr. Henry was asked about a rumour that there are about a million of the tests sitting in a warehouse, being denied to long-term care homes, and smirked at the question.

According to the doctor, the tests have been in use for months in B.C., particularly at certain health-care facilities.

"They have been available… And there's over 100,000 (rapid tests for visitors) distributed – started last week to long-term care homes across the province," Henry said.

She did not provide further details on how the province intends to use these rapid tests, other than in long-term care.

Last month, at a news conference prior to the latest update posted by Health Canada, Henry said health officials were waiting for a certain type of at-home test before distributing them to the public.

On Dec. 14, she said provincial officials expected those tests to arrive in November, but that they might not get here until the new year.

Addressing the fact that other provinces have made at-home test kits available for free, she said the tests offered in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan at the time were a different type of test. She said B.C. was waiting for a specific version, with the product name "Roche," while the other provinces used a type made by BTNX.

"There are different types of rapid antigen tests that are available. Many of them that we have are ones that require a health professional to take a swab and we've deployed those in areas where they're most useful," Henry said, adding that about 1.3 million of B.C.'s rapid tests are that kind and that they require a box to complete the test that can't be taken home. "We don't have the ones that Alberta is offering."

The most recently available data through the federal government suggests 1.26 million rapid tests have been deployed, all of which have the product names Abbott ID Now, Abbott Panbio and BD Veritor.

According to the feds, no BTNX or Roche rapid tests have been received by or deployed to B.C.

But as of Dec. 17, 30,000 Roche tests earmarked for Alberta had been received, though none had been sent to what the federal government calls their "final point-of-care" settings, where they'll actually be administered.

More than seven million BTNX tests have been allocated to the province, and 39,025 had been sent as of that date.

Another 2,400 Lucira rapid tests had been sent to Alberta by that time, compared to zero sent or received in B.C.

Details on the supply and deployment for all provinces can be viewed on the federal government's website, though at the time this article was published, this data had not been updated since mid-December. 

Last month, the Public Health Agency of Canada estimated that two million rapid tests provided by the federal government to B.C. had not been distributed.

Dix said further plans for the tests will be made public when they arrive in B.C. All she said at the time about the plans for at-home tests is that they will be offered free of charge.

With files from CTV News Vancouver's Alyse Kotyk