Supermarkets, pharmacies still waiting for rapid antigen tests amid ever-growing demand

The tests have been in high demand all year as governments across the country shifted their focus from PCR testing to rapid testing as the Omicron variant caused a rise in new cases into the tens of thousands each day in Victoria alone.

Only exacerbating the demand was the federal government's announcement that rapid antigen tests would be free for concession card holders to collect from pharmacies - which were already struggling to find stock.

The state-run testing site at Creswick Road recently received additional rapid antigen tests for distribution to the public, receiving 14,000 last week.

Grampians Public Health Unit director of operations Robyn Wilson said supply was looking 'much healthier' and there were also additional tests available for sensitive settings.

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"We might get additional ones for particular settings that we need to provide and those rapid engine tests, we'll give them to the public who comes through who needs them, but we'll also send them to sites that have an outbreak," she said.

"At residential aged care, disability, particularly, we'll send them to those sites if they're running short or they have an outbreak and need additional ones. We're sort of the backstop for the region. We also supply RATs to the public hospital testing sites around. If we have a testing site in Stawell, we might send some extras down to them if they need it."

Meanwhile, Ballarat largest pharmacy chain UFS still does not know when it might receive its ordered tests.

UFS pharmacy operations manager Peter Fell said the pharmacy group had been in the same situation since Christmas.

"We've got many thousands ordered across a variety of suppliers, but as yet, nothing's actually landed at the warehouse, unfortunately," he said.

"I can't even begin to tell you how frustrated we are about this whole process and it's probably being made worse now compliments of the health department's announcement around the concession RAT supply. That's obviously created a far greater demand.

"It was a bit disappointing the way they've decided to structure the program because they've essentially anointed us as the supplier for that product, but they aren't actually supplying us with any stock directly. We're going to have to try and manage that program out of the orders that we already have in place ourselves and then claim the payment back from the health department."

Mr Fell said the issue would only be worse for smaller pharmacy businesses.

"Those pharmacies, presumably like us, would have orders in the pipeline as well, but the orders they would have been placing wouldn't have been considered of the sort of quantities that are going to be demanded now through the concession program," he said.

"Even just from a cash flow standpoint, depending how quickly the health department gets their payment process underway, the small pharmacies will have significant out of pocket between buying their stock in and getting reimbursed from the health department.

"We're hopeful that we'll see products not too far away and then certainly once it is available, we've got tens of thousands on order, we'll be distributing it through all the pharmacies within a day or two of us getting it and then we'll put some announcements up on our Facebook page and our social media platforms to let the public know that stock has arrived."

Some pharmacies, however, are having no problem being able to source the tests. Blooms The Chemist Daylesford has 'unlimited supplies of the tests after finding another supplier.

Owner Andrew Leslie said importing the TGA-approved tests from Malaysia was a 'huge relief'.

"The community has been panicked over the previous weeks because of the shortages of RATs and the necessity for RATs, especially with the winding down of the PCR government programs. It is a very big relief for myself, my staff and the community," he said.

"The demand when we didn't have any stock was, in no exaggeration, probably leading to around 300 phone calls a day asking whether we had any rapid antigen tests and it wasn't just from the local Daylesford and Hepburn community, it was coming from all the Victoria."

Ballarat supermarket Blake Family Grocer, formerly known as Maxi Foods, is also awaiting stock with a truck on standby at Sydney Airport to collect the tests which were supposed to arrive last Friday.

Owner Brendan Blake said his shipment of 2000 tests was stuck in Sydney and could arrive any day now.

"The tests have arrived in Australia, they're at Sydney Airport. There are apparently 36 planes delayed awaiting unloading... Apparently it's absolute mayhem at the Sydney Airport where they're being received. We have a truck which is assigned to our wholesaler, which has been on standby since Thursday awaiting loading to come back to Ballarat," he said.

It is frustrating but my main frustration is that I was updating Ballarat with the expectation of receiving stock on Friday and I'm reluctant to continue to update the township without a firm date as to when the truck's going to depart.

"It's just quite incredible and it has parallels with the toilet paper crisis of 2020. It's just the next product that everybody seems to need and the demand is so high and the supply is just so difficult to obtain."

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