CVS, Walgreens Lift Limits on Purchases of Rapid COVID-19 Tests

MONDAY, Feb. 7, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- There will no longer be a limit on how many over-the-counter rapid COVID-19 tests customers can buy at a time, the pharmacy chains CVS and Walgreens say.

CVS previously restricted customers to purchasing six tests at once, but has dropped those restrictions because it has increased its supply, the company said.

"We've worked with our vendors to increase inventory of OTC COVID-19 tests and have removed all product limits on those products at CVS Pharmacy locations nationwide and on CVS.com," a CVS Pharmacy spokesperson told CBS News.

CVS currently carries six different rapid COVID-19 tests.

Walgreens had limited customers to a maximum of four tests per purchase in stores or online, but they may now buy as many as they want, according to a company spokesperson.

Around the holidays, the tests were particularly difficult to obtain as Americans sought to travel and gather with others at a time when there was a surge in cases of the highly contagious Omicron variant.

In mid-January, the Biden administration introduced a rule requiring private insurers to cover the cost of eight over-the-counter COVID-19 tests per month for each covered member, and on Thursday that rule was extended to recipients of Medicare.

Americans can also receive four free at-home tests directly from the U.S. government.

Some insurers have teamed with retailers to make the tests available for free at the point of purchase, while clients of other insurers have to save their receipts and submit them for reimbursement, CBS News reported.

More information

Find out more about COVID-19 tests at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

SOURCE: CBS News