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ARCHIVED - Omicron inflates antigen test prices in Spain
Spanish president vows to regulate the cost of Covid tests
The government in Spain committed on Monday January 10 to regulate the cost of over-the-counter antigen tests in order to halt the exponential rise in their cost. Demand for coronavirus home-testing kits went through the roof in the run-up to the Christmas period, resulting in nationwide shortages and manufacturers hiking up the price tag to reflect this.
According to President Pedro Sanchez, the supply problem has been resolved, “and now we will focus on the price.”
Several surveys have found that in some places, the cost of antigen tests has increased from three to 10 euros in a few short weeks, and the General Council of Nursing (CGE) has demanded that the administration set a price limit, “as was done with masks”, to prevent manufacturers and pharmacies from gambling with people’s health.
"That there are differences of more than 10 euros between some establishments and others causes a huge injustice for the whole of society," the group has argued, and has called on the government to ensure that diagnostic tests remain “affordable.”
Up until now, the price of self-tests in Spain has not been regulated, as it is for PCR and other coronavirus tests carried out in laboratories, leading to price differences of up to 102% across different chemists.
In addition to regulating test prices, President Sanchez announced that Spain plans to purchase 344,000 oral antiviral medications from Pfizer this month, drugs which have been shown to reduce the possibility of hospitalisation for Covid by 88%. According to the European Medicines Agency, the pill also substantially reduces a patient’s chance of death.
For the moment, Sanchez is strongly against introducing mandatory vaccines, as has been done in other countries such as Italy, given that more than 90% of the Spanish population already has the complete vaccination schedule and more than 80% of those over 60 years of age have received a booster dose.
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