As the Omicron variant surged in the past months, the need for COVID testing has increased rapidly. Before the rise of Omicron, testing was not at such a high demand since the vaccine protected from most strains of COVID. As cases of Omicron rose, the demand for testing also increased.

At the beginning of the pandemic, there were government-funded testing sites, with Pelham having Glen Island, which had free and accessible tests. Almost two years into the pandemic, these testing sites have been taken away, many of them turned into vaccination sites.

December through January proved the stress on COVID testing, as numbers spiked to an all-time high in the pandemic. Schools and workplaces began to return to virtual settings, and people needed access to tests in order to go back to their normal lives. However, the price of PCR tests, the most reliable tests, were at prices ranging from $100-$300. These high prices, along with limited availability of tests, had not proven conducive to equitable and affordable testing for everyone. Many companies have taken advantage of the limited availability of tests and the high demand, and are inflating the prices. This has created a disparity between prices of tests, with prices ranging from free, to upwards of $300.

“The key issue is the supply,” Joshua Sharfstein, MD, vice dean for public health practice and community engagement at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health says. “When tests are scarce, and their use is not directed by public health authorities, the price in the private sector is likely to rise.”

Because of the scarcity doubled with the high prices, PMHS has stopped requiring PCR tests in order for students to come back to school after having COVID, and has offered that a 10 day quarantine is also sufficient instead of a PCR test.