Just over two weeks after Gov. Charlie Baker announced the state would be distributing free at-home COVID tests to vulnerable municipalities, many towns and cities are already running low.
On Dec. 13, Baker announced that the Massachusetts Emergency Management Administration, or MEMA, would distribute 2.1 million rapid at-home tests to the 102 cities and towns with the highest percentage of families living below the poverty line.
All 2.1 million tests have been delivered, a spokesperson for MEMA told GBH News Tuesday. In some of the municipalities that received them, most if not all of the tests have already been handed out, both directly to residents and to community organizations making separate distribution efforts.
"Things were looking great. We had 38,000 kits that were supplied, [or] 76,000 tests. But they did go very quickly," said Lawrence public health director Michael Armano. "We've distributed, I believe, all of them."
The availability of free tests in hard-hit communities was a boon, Armano said. They arrived just as residents were struggling to find tests on pharmacy shelves, or to afford them in the first place, with a two-test kit often costing $25. With the delivery coming right before the holidays, Armano said many used the tests to check if they were infected before getting together with a large group.
"We've had people reach out and say that test saved them from going to a holiday gathering," he said. "There's no doubt in my mind that these tests have cut down on infections."
Worcester Medical Director Dr. Michael Hirsh said that his city has distributed roughly 100,000 tests out of the 130,000 provided by the state.
Where tests will come from next, and whether they’ll come at all, is unclear. Hirsh said that another round of tests for municipalities may come from the Biden administration, but didn’t know a clear timeline. Another round from the state government, he said, might be more efficient in getting tests into residents’ hands.
"They've been very responsive to our needs in Worcester from the very beginning of the pandemic," said Hirsh. "The federal government is a little bit more clunky."
It's not yet known whether the state will provide a new influx of tests at no cost, like this month's delivery. A MEMA spokesperson said they were not aware of any future distribution efforts from the agency, and the Baker administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In announcing the free tests on Dec. 13, Baker said, “This is not just a one-time distribution of a one-time test.”
Baker also said the state was negotiating a deal with suppliers so that cities and towns could buy tests for themselves at a discount. Communities that do purchase tests on their own may be able to be cover their cost with federal COVID aid.
Regardless of where the tests come from, supplies are running short. The Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts is distributing the remaining 50 or so tests it has on hand tomorrow. All have been been claimed in advance. That's from an initial 450 the organization received from the Boston Public Health Commission, which in turn came to the city as part of the Baker administration’s 2.1 million.
William Watkins, Executive Director of Workforce Development at the Urban League, said his organization and others are clamoring for more.
"We've had calls from Head Start, we've had calls from different mental health services," said Watkins. "We've received calls from some of the housing developments that have been asking for tests. So there's a high demand for them, definitely."
