Fresno City Councilmember Mike Karbassi is tested for Covid-19 in this May 2020 file photo.

Between the surge of the delta variant and new vaccine mandates, demand for Covid-19 rapid testing has been ramping up.

Testing sites in Fresno County’s rural areas have reduced utilization, but metropolitan Fresno has seen about an 80% utilization of sites, said Joe Prado, interim assistant director for the Fresno County Department of Public Health.

CareStart rapid antigen testing has also been newly available through the State of California, and the county’s new shipments have been prioritized for hospitals.

“We’re just trying to really manage the resources we have and push them towards the priority areas at this time,” Prado said.

Availability for PCR – polymerase chain reaction – Covid-19 testing is strong in Fresno County, though, said Prado. These tests take days to come back with a result, instead of rapid tests which cut the turnaround time down to hours or minutes.

“The issue today really is those rapid antigen tests. That’s where we’re kind of managing right now,” he said. “With the additional testing requirements for schools and for other employers, there is just that bottleneck right now in obtaining those rapid antigen tests.”

With schools not having rapid tests available yet, Prado said when the state sends enough to distribute to schools, it would help manage any type of outbreak.

“We would like to have more rapid antigen testing available to our schools, but we hope the state is able to get that program up and running again,” Prado added.

The county still plans on keeping the testing sites in place, though. And school testing is also ramping up.

New York-based WeShield, a subsidiary to developer and manufacturing company OPTEC International, is responsible for providing personal protective equipment and safety supplies. The company was founded during the pandemic to maintain the quality of PPE in hospitals.

The company has provided PPE for multiple medical systems and retail chains in the country, and now offers testing services.

Roman Vinfield, chief revenue officer for WeShield, said he’s directly seeing the supply chain impacted because of the surge of people vying for tests.

“The supply is tight and the demand is crazy,” he said.

With the emergence of the Delta variant and vaccine mandates, the company has seen a huge surge in demand.

​​“Like everything else with PPE during this global pandemic, prices were originally double the current price for Dovid tests (approximately $12 per test for POC – point of care). Then in Spring 2021, when we thought Covid was ending, test prices plummeted to the point where no one was buying and manufacturers were actually throwing tests out,” said WeShield CEO Michael Sinensky. “Now, due to Delta and government vaccine and testing mandates, supply once again has dried up and prices are climbing fast from $4 to $6 for tests for POC and $10 to $14 for tests for OTC – over the counter.”

President Joe Biden announced in early September that businesses with 100 or more employees would require workers to be vaccinated or test weekly for Covid-19. Hospitals and schools are also seeing the pressure of more tests administered, as hospital visitors need to show proof of vaccination or be tested, and teachers are required to do the same.

Vinfield said that even three months ago, testing supplies weren’t as in demand as they are now, and the supply has drastically increased.

“It went from testing being kind of – especially the rapid antigen testing – being you know, ignored, to becoming a super needed commodity,” Vinfield said.

WeShield deals with numerous suppliers for the tests, and suspects the demand and supply to come in waves as more over-the-counter tests are slated to be approved for use. However, it’s still tight, he said.

With masks, he has seen a cyclical demand in conjunction with mandates, masking guidance and surges of Covid-19. When surges ebb and flow, demand seems to shift with it, he said.

“The demand is here to stay for quite some time,” Vinfield said.

Of course, when there is demand on a company product, it’s good business.

“From a business standpoint our company is doing well,” he said.

Government agencies like the Food and Drug Administration could theoretically approve other tests and speed up the process, easing up the supply chain.

“I think they’re doing that, but they probably could be doing that more efficiently,” he said. “There are tests that are approved in Canada for example that are pretty much the same exact tests that are approved in the United States. But because they’re from a different brand of the same manufacturer, they’re not FDA approved so they can’t be used in the United States.”

He suspects that at this point, the FDA has gained trust with particular manufacturers and the agency is waiting on them to ramp up supply. For now, WeShield is trying to work with as many of those manufacturers as possible to make sure the company can meet the needs of clients.