State’s liquor stores sold 8,152 COVID-19 tests in 15 days

This story was updated Feb. 23, 2022 at noon to remove inaccurate information about insurance reimbursement that had been provided by the state. 

If you’re still looking for an at-home COVID-19 test, the state’s liquor stores have plenty. 

In the 15 days since the state began selling the tests at its 67 liquor stores and nine Doorway locations, it has sold 8,152 – or about 543 a day, according to E.J. Powers, whose firm Montagne Powers handles communications for the state Liquor Commission.

That’s a slower pace than the state saw last year when it made 850,000 at-home tests available via an online order form. Those went in 24 hours – but they were free. 

The Flowflex tests at the liquor stores cost $11.29 each, a bit higher than what local pharmacies are charging, and each box contains a single test. The state purchased 1 million of them with about $12 million in pandemic relief money and will use proceeds from the sales for other COVID-19 response efforts. 

Montagne Powers has promoted the sales with a press release, which Powers said reached millions of people at the local, state, and national level. He said the tests are also prominently displayed in the liquor stores. They are not promoted on the liquor stores’ website (visitors have to search for “COVID” to find them) or its Twitter feed.

The state chose those locations because the outlets have capacity to store the tests and are located throughout the state. The nine Doorway sites serve people seeking crisis help with substance misuse.