BALTIMORE — Melanie Thankappan headed to the Pratt Library in Federal Hill for the branch’s 10 a.m. opening, hoping to score a box of COVID-19 rapid tests.
A lot of people were already there, and the boxes of test kits were already distributed. She and some other hopefuls waited for a few minutes to make sure there weren’t more inside.
“I feel like if I walk away then they will come out with more boxes,” said the second-grade teacher in Baltimore, who is tested regularly at school but wanted more certainty and timeliness in results for gatherings.
“I don’t want to hoard tests, but I want to have enough so that I make sure I’m safe and everyone around me is safe.”
With Christmas and New Year’s coming soon, and the highly transmissible coronavirus variant omicron now circulating, it seems everyone is eager to stick a swab up their nose.
The Pratt libraries had around 4,800 tests, and almost all were handed out within the first 30 minutes, said Meghan McCorkell, a library system spokeswoman.
“The Health Department gave us the tests, and we hope to give away more as they become available,” she said in an email. “Libraries are communities anchors for access across Baltimore City, so we are a natural fit to hand out kits like this. We are proud to serve the city and partner with the Health Department in this way.”
Some people in line said they had already been on a tour of other library branches, drug stores and other sites with not luck finding the test kits that have been in low supply throughout the pandemic.
The Biden administration plans to ship a half a billion of the at-home rapid test to consumers beginning in January, not soon enough for the holidays. The pandemic plan also includes more testing sites, which suddenly in Maryland also have long lines and reports of canceled appointments.
Tests will continue to be an integral part of a layered approach to protecting the community from COVID-19, said Matthew Frieman, a coronavirus expert and professor in the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s Department of Microbiology and Immunology.
With the holidays coming, he plans to test himself ahead of visiting family over the Christmas holiday.
The family will use rapid tests on Wednesday ahead of traveling Thursday. If anyone is positive they will all go for more sensitive PCR tests at a lab and hope results come back in time.
Like other experts, he said the best way to use rapid tests was to test everyone once ahead of a gathering and twice over several days for those exposed or with symptoms.
“Probably no one has enough tests to do it that way for every gathering, though,” he said. “If you have them, they are good to give you a sense of security that you are not infected at that moment.”
Frieman said that those who can’t access a test before the holidays should still considering going to important gatherings. He suggested extra precautions, including vaccinations, boosters, extra hand washes, masks and well-ventilated rooms.
The booster, a third shot, could be the difference between getting infected or not, he said. Evidence suggests just the two-dose regimens do work, too, and generally keep people from getting severely sick if they do become infected.
“It is important to be together for our emotional well being, and people in public health recognize that,” he said. “Christmas is a time when people want to be together, especially two years into the pandemic.”
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