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At-home COVID-19 tests still selling out

We're into a new year, and people are returning to work and school, and area pharmacies still can't keep those at-home COVID-19 tests on the shelves.

DUNMORE, Pa. — One by one, the at-home COVID-19 tests are taken off the shelf at DePietro's Pharmacy in Dunmore.

This supply would only last for a couple more hours.

Rick Hellard is relieved he finally found a test. He'd been checking around other pharmacies with no luck.

He said, "Yes, it's very rare, hard to find."

Paris Alunni of Dunmore leaves the pharmacy with tests for his grandkids. They're going back to college next week and want to make sure they're in the clear.

"I think after the new year's celebrations, people are more aware of being in crowds and getting tested and making sure they're not infected," said Alunni.

Pharmacist Tom DePietro says after the holiday weekend, his parking lot was full of customers even before he opened his doors on Monday morning.

"Around the holidays, people wanted to test prior, and now that they've all gathered and experienced some sort of symptoms, kids are going back to school. It's created such a demand for people wanting to have a peace of mind," explained DePietro.

DePietro keeps his Facebook page active, constantly updating customers whenever the pharmacy gets more tests and when the supply runs out.

"We're trying to handle regular business, and then we just get such a surge of calls when we have them in stock. So it's hard to give everybody the same answer, and we are a smaller pharmacy. So, it's hard to keep up with the phone lines. That's why we try to utilize social media and our phone system to alert when we have them and when we don't," added DePietro.

Watch more stories about the coronavirus pandemic on WNEP’s YouTube page.  

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