Pharmacies in the ACT are beginning to feel the sting as demand for rapid antigen tests soars.
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Omicron continues to spread and Christmas is getting closer, with the ACT hitting a new record of 58 cases yesterday while NSW recorded 3762 cases.
Kay Vo is a pharmacy assistant at Campbell Pharmacy and says it's increasingly busy each day with demand for rapid antigen tests.
"Every phone call is about rapid antigen tests and they are selling like hotcakes," Ms Vo said.
"We don't have any left in the shop, they are all gone now due to people wanting to get tests before family Christmases and travel so hopefully more comes soon."
Demand for tests continue to grow as exposure sites increase, with the latest including Hoyts Cinema and multiple nightclubs.
In addition, wait times for PCR testing sites Mitchell and Garran reached capacity as of 11.20 on Wednesday, until the SES came to help reopen the sites, while other locations reported at least 1.5 to 4 hour wait times.
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Fyshwick Pharmacy is also feeling the pressure for rapid antigen tests, as pharmacist Peter Kong says they don't know when they will get more supply of the tests.
"There's a huge supply issue at the moment, our stock is all gone and we have no idea when more will come for us to restock for customers," Mr Kong said.
"There are a few TGA approved brands around but our pharmacy can't seem to source any alone from a wholesaler so they're all on back order."
"A lot of customers are on the phone every morning checking in and making requests for more but we just can't supply them."
Some pharmacies had reported supply in the morning yet as the day wore on stock began to dwindle, with Capital Chemist in Dickson reporting shipments arrived at 8.30am on Wednesday morning and were sold out by 9.30am.
Jonathan Tacey from The Pharmacy on Petrie said they were well supplied in the morning but by the afternoon said they were going to run out of stock.
"The shelves were full this morning but as of this afternoon we're expecting to be sold out in the next few hours," Mr Tacey said.
"Hopefully after Christmas the rush for rapid antigen tests will calm down a bit so we're able to keep up with demand."
Costco Wholesale Canberra has a high number of supplies for rapid antigen tests, selling packs of 20 for customers, which country manager Patrick Noone says had been a priority product for the company.
"Once the roadmap for reopening was released, selling these rapid antigen tests definitely felt like it would become an important addition to business and family shopping lists," Mr Noone said.
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