COVID testing challenges after holiday season

Locals wait several hours to get COVID test at walk-in clinics, appointments booked through the weekend - 13 On Your Side's Arlette Yousif reports

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA/KECY) - In the aftermath of the holiday season, many are trying to get tested for COVID due to being around someone who later tested positive or because they are feeling sick themselves.

COVID tests are hard to come by with the soonest available appointments for rapid testing as far out as this coming weekend for major pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens.

Walk-in and drive-through testing sites in Yuma are also backed up with locals having to wait several hours to get tested.

The tests usually come at a cost of at least $35 for rapid COVID testing. Insurance companies are still only covering the cost of PCR testing, despite talks of changing coverage policies to include rapid COVID tests.

"It makes it hard especially for the people that have to, like, if they got sick and they’re not sure if they have it, it makes hard for them to get back to work. It’s frustrating, especially when I have the kids in the car because if I go get tested, I have to get everybody tested in the home," says Yuma resident Maricruz Alarcon.

Although the demand for COVID testing is currently high, the Yuma County Public Health Services District (YCPHSD) says the real surge is yet to come.

"I’d like to think positively and think this is our peak, but my most estimates-- we’re thinking mid-January. Which is really actually just, you know, right around the corner. And then we’re hoping, cautiously optimistic, that we’ll start seeing those cases dropping," explains Yuma County Public Health Services District Director Diana Gomez.

As a result, more rapid COVID tests are on the way. However, Gomez says that PCR tests are always the better option as they are more sensitive and can be sent out for sequencing to check for the omicron variant.

"People should be able to get tested whenever they need to get tested. Especially if it’s a necessity and, you know, COVID is still going around, people need to make sure they get their results," says Yuma resident Krysta Cofske.

While the Biden administration promises to send out 500 million at-home COVID test kits, they have yet to send any out according to The Washington Post.

Still, there are no regulations on reporting at-home COVID test results to the health department or the state, though it is highly encouraged.

The health department has updated information on COVID testing and vaccination sites on their website.