As Christmas Day edges nearer, many people have been left without lateral flow tests.
Issues with supply chains and high demand for tests over the festive period have meant that many pharmacies are without or are struggling to keep up with demand.
Raja Zubair, a pharmacy dispenser at Roberts GP LTD in Levenshulme, told the M.E.N that the pharmacy is out of stock for the first time.
He said: “We had some yesterday, a whole box of 100, all gone.
“Generally our pharmacy has been good, this is the first time we’ve got no stock.
“It’s very strange, it’s bad in people’s time of need.”
However, Umar Ahmed, a trainee pharmacist at Ladybarn Pharmacy in Fallowfield said that they have had supply issues for a while and currently have none in stock.
He said: “We’ve been getting them every other day, but not many.
“We order them from the supplier, but there’s just not many about.”
Similarly, Everest Pharmacy in Whalley Range, praised for its work as a vaccination centre, is currently out of tests.
A member of staff said: “We’re trying to order but it’s with the supplier. Yesterday, we had two boxes come in and they’re all gone.
“We’ve tried to order more today but the supplier is out.”
As well as pharmacies, Chorlton and Didsbury libraries also have a limited stock of lateral flow tests, but their stock tends to run out very quickly.
There are still some pharmacies across South Manchester that still have stock, though.
Wells Pharmacy in Chorlton, despite having a stock issue earlier in the month, has had a backlog of deliveries arrive and now has lots of lateral flow tests in stock.
Cohen’s Chemist in Withington also has a healthy supply of tests and has reported no issues with stocking lateral flows at all.
It is possible to order lateral flow tests through the NHS website, but they can take up to three days to arrive.
A spokesperson for the UK Health Security Agency said: “Despite unprecedented demand, we are continuing to supply millions of rapid lateral flow tests every day.
“We are issuing record numbers of rapid test kits to people’s homes across the country, and our delivery capacity has doubled to 900,000 test kits per day since Saturday 18 December so more people can order tests.
“Over the last weekend, more than 7 million lateral flow tests were distributed to households ordering online.
“Due to a supply chain issue there was a temporary delay in some pharmacies receiving their rapid test orders. Pharmacies are now continuing to receive deliveries.
“Last week saw record numbers of rapid tests distributed to pharmacies, with over 11 million test kits sent.”
