Backround on why  rapid tests for COVID-19 are in such short supply

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At-home rapid antigen tests are reselling for triple the retail price on some digital marketplaces. Testing locations in L.A. County have been overwhelmed by mile-long lines, with some events canceled due to traffic. Some would-be self-testers have resigned themselves to driving between CVS and Walgreens locations, hoping to snag a kit at a reasonable price.

Companies are racing to fulfill the excess demand.

Abbott Laboratories, which makes the BinaxNOW rapid antigen test, expects to produce 70 million tests this month and is working to raise that to 100 million, said CEO Robert Ford.

Pop-up testing sites have cropped up on street corners, in parking lots and on shopping properties across the country, but health and legal experts say many of these are unregulated and could be rife for nefarious activities like identity theft.

In the last few weeks, legislators and attorneys general in several states including Illinois, Maryland, California, Texas and Pennsylvania have said they will be investigating and introducing regulatory legislation overseeing these operations.

Numerous illegal, unapproved and unsanitary sites have been cautioned by state officials nationwide.