A few months back a friend told me she was not feeling well and was trying to find an at-home rapid COVID test. She needed the test because in a few days it would be her turn to care for her mother, who has mild cognitive impairment.
I offered to go find her a test and drop it off at her home, and after checking a dozen pharmacies, I finally found one.
My local pharmacy told me they had over 1,000 units come in the day before and they were gone within hours. The clerk said she wished the store’s policy would put limits on the number of tests people could buy, as some people were buying dozens. This, of course, made it difficult for me to find one for my friend.
Besides causing lack of availability, stockpiling tests is not recommended because most tests right now have a fairly short expiration date.