Lateral flow tests appear to be “unavailable for delivery” after the announcement that they will no longer be free from the 1 April triggered a scramble for the kits.

The scrapping of free testing is part of Boris Johnson’s “living with COVID” plan, which also saw an end to the legal requirement for those who test positive for COVID to self-isolate.

The number of rapid tests available each day has been capped to “manage demand”, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) says.

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In line with the government’s new plan, tests ordered online are only available every three days, when previously people could order a new pack every 24 hours.

People hoping to find tests should re-visit the site every few hours as more become available, the department added.

“Over two billion lateral flow tests have been provided across the UK since 2020,” the Living With COVID plan says.

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“UKHSA continues to have good stock levels and will manage these to provide flexibility in future.

“Ahead of the end of free universal testing in England, it will be necessary for UKHSA to cap the number of tests distributed each day to manage demand.

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“Given that advice to test has and continues to reduce, the government urges people only to order what they need.”

The prime minister added: “We’re working with retailers to ensure that everyone who wants to can buy a test.”

It appears tests can still be accessed at pharmacies, however.

The scramble for tests comes as the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) says that there is a “strong possibility” that COVID jabs will need to be given out every year in the same way as flu shots.

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Professor Adam Finn told the BBC that older people and those deemed vulnerable should come forward for their spring booster, before another rollout is announced for the autumn.

Asked if people could expect an annual jab, he said: “It’s hard to be absolutely sure about that, but the direction of discussion at the moment is certainly a booster campaign in the autumn, directed probably at the people who… we think are most at risk.

“Whether that goes on year after year like the flu programme is still an open question and depends on what coronavirus does to us in the interim, but it’s a strong possibility that we may have a winter-time campaign, combined with the flu vaccine campaign, going forward.”

Read more: What will ‘living with COVID’ mean when coronavirus restrictions end in England?

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