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Pharmacies in Central Pa. see a rise in COVID-19 testing

Hillcrest Pharmacy in Lancaster County had to hire additional help due to the influx of people coming in wanting to get tested or vaccinated.

LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — In recent weeks, it's become harder for people to get tested for Covid-19.

“Through the past month that I’ve been working here, I can say that it hasn’t really slowed down testing wise, if anything it’s been picking up quite a bit," said Cassidy Simione, a Licensed Pratical Nurse at Hillcrest Pharmacy and Compounding. 

Melissa Koehler, the co-owner of the Lancaster County pharmacy, says they’ve been doing about 15 to 20 Covid-19 tests everyday. 

“We’re seeing symptomatic patients coming in, that they want to have a test done because they have symptoms, but also we’re seeing a lot of patients that don’t have symptoms and they need to be tested because of contact tracing for school or athletic events," she says. "A lot of people want to go to other events like concerts."

Ben Reigner, a junior at Lancaster Catholic High School stopped by the pharmacy to get a Covid-19 test.

“Right now on our football team there is like a contact, so I had to get it so I can go back to play," he said.

Reigner tested negative and says he’s looking forward to being able to go back to playing football.

“I think it’s important to know, like to get a test to know that we don’t have it, that we’re able to play," he said. "That’s the most important thing: make sure we’re all healthy."

Koehler says that she’s had to hire additional help due to the influx of people coming in wanting to get tested or vaccinated.

“I have several new employees that we’re training to help with the demand," said Koehler.  

They expect that demand to be higher once kids ages 5-11 are eligible to get the Covid-19 vaccine. 

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