NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — After days of long car lines, the COVID testing and vaccination site off 28th Avenue in Nashville sits empty with snow covered tents.
It's the third day in a row of closures following the recent winter weather. An Office of Emergency Management official said, "furthermore, the parking lot is impacted by the same snow and ice the roads were impacted by over the last few days.
But demand for COVID tests hasn't gone away.
"Especially since the onset of the Omicron virus, what we're hearing from the FDA is a significant uptick in requests for testing and so for the scammers that's an invitation to figure out how for you to land on their site instead of something that's legitimate," said President and CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Middle TN, Robyn Householder.
Whether through robocalls, text messages, or pop-up ads, scammers are looking to capitalize on the opportunity.
"One of the reasons why you get those pop-up adds or you get social media information is because they're tracking on the types of things that you're looking at proactively and sending you back information for what they think you want," said Householder.
So if you receive an offer for a test from a name you don't recognize, do your research. "Don't respond to something that was unsolicited from someone you don't know and quite frankly since this is involving your own health, the best place to start is with your own doctor," said Householder.
As for the Meharry drive-thru sites off 28th Avenue and Murfreesboro Road, they're expected to resume operations as usual on Monday. In addition, people will have the option to visit the site off 28th Avenue on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for the month of January.
