COVID-19: B.C. to begin distributing rapid tests to people aged 60+ on Monday

British Columbians aged 60 and older will be able to pick up COVID-19 rapid antigen tests at local pharmacies starting Monday.

The move is the next step in the province’s phased distribution plan for rapid tests, after they were made available to people over the age of 70 in late February.

Up until that point, rapid tests were not available to the public at community pharmacies.

Eligible people can pick up one kit containing five tests once every 28 days. The kits are free, but people will need to show their personal health number to get one.

2:36 B.C. policies on rapid testing and booster doses under scrutiny

The Ministry of Health said Friday it had shipped out 3.9 million tests to pharmacy distributors to date, of which 1.8 million have made their way to about 1,000 actual pharmacies.

The province says about 583,000 of those tests have been given out to the public.

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The province is expecting another nine million tests from the federal government in the coming months.

The mass distribution of tests comes as the Omicron variant-driven fifth wave of the pandemic continues to ebb, and months after the province faced criticism for not having take-home tests available as cases surged over the winter holidays.