COVID tests may in short supply due to several major manufacturers scaled back production of the tests. With infections spiking due, in part to the Delta variant, schools reopening, and relaxing of mask and other preventative mandates, demand for testing is increasing driven by both healthcare providers and schools.

Supplies could tighten even further as more state governments and private employers demand staff either get vaccinated or agree to regular testing. Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) and Goldman Sachs (GS.N) are among major employers requiring staff to be regularly tested.

Testing in schools is a top priority for federal and state officials as a minority of the roughly 70 million school-age U.S. children have been vaccinated. Those under 12 are not yet eligible for the shots.

Demand for diagnostic tests has surged nearly six-fold in the past two months, from around 250,000 per day in early July to nearly 1.5 million in mid-August, according to U.S. federal data. The data only tracks diagnostic tests that are run in laboratories.

Read the entire article at Reuters