B.C. rapid tests now available to all adults

Anyone 18 years or older in B.C. can now pick up COVID-19 rapid test kits from community pharmacies.

One five-test kit can be picked up every 28 days.

When you pick up a kit, you will need to bring you personal health number (PHN). If someone is picking one up on your behalf, they need to bring have your name, PHN, and date of birth.

You are urged not to wait until you have symptoms before you pick up your tests.

“Individuals should pick up a test kit when not having symptoms of illness to use at a future time when having symptoms of illness. Guidelines for testing continue to indicate tests should be used for symptomatic individuals,” reads a statement from the province.

Rapid tests are less accurate than standard testing, but results are much faster, typically within 20 minutes.

B.C.’s rapid test rollout started with people aged 70 and up on Feb. 25. Health officials said it would pick up pace as supply increased. Since then, eligibility has gradually expanded by age groups.

The province says as of Monday, about a third of the 7.8 million tests shipped to distributors had been delivered to participating pharmacies. On Tuesday, the Health Minister Adrian Dix said 548,000 British Columbians had picked up boxes.

Vancouver physician Dr. Anna Wolak told CityNews she thinks the sense of urgency for COVID rapid tests is gone, pointing out they were not available when there was widespread demand for them over the holidays.

“People wanted to use them as the ‘green light, red light’ to go to gatherings. Now that urgency is not there,” she said.

Related articles:

• ‘That urgency is not there’: Half-million B.C. COVID rapid test kits picked up so far

• B.C. kids prepare to return to school without mask rules, critics call for policy changes

COVID cases have been on the decline over the past several weeks, with the province reporting 269 confirmed cases on Wednesday. However the true number is higher, as stricter rules around PCR testing were introduced over the winter with the spread of the Omicron variant. Many are also testing themselves at home.

There are 258 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in B.C., including 49 in the ICU. One person in Northern Health has died in the past day.

B.C. is reporting 90.8 per cent of people aged five and up have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 87.1 per cent have received their second. Among people aged 12 and up, 57.1 per cent have received a third dose.

There are now five health-care facilities with ongoing outbreaks, including three on Vancouver Island.

Most COVID-19 restrictions in B.C. have been removed, including the requirement of masks in most indoor public spaces. The vaccine passport program in this province will end on April 8.

With files from Liza Yuzda