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COVID-19 TESTS

Covid or flu? Combo tests now available in Spain

Spanish pharmacies have started selling self-diagnostic tests which allow users to determine whether they have tested positive for flu or Covid-19. Here’s everything you need to know, from their price to how they work.

Published: 5 September 2022 11:02 CEST
Covid or flu? Combo tests now available in Spain
Combined tests which allow users to find out whether they’ve become infected with Covid-19, influenza type A or influenza type B (two different strains of the flu) are being stocked in pharmacies. (Photo by Josep LAGO / AFP)

As of September 2022, Covid-19 cases are dropping in Spain and the pandemic has for some
months now not dominated daily life in the country, with hardly any restrictions still in place.

However, there are still people dying from the virus and others suffering serious complications after becoming infected.

The recommendation from Spanish health authorities continues to be that if you have Covid-19 symptoms, you should get tested in order for you to take the necessary precautions with yourself and others.

Some people choose not to get tested because they assume that their symptoms are consistent with the common cold or the flu rather than the coronavirus.

That’s in part because clear Covid symptoms such as the complete loss of smell are far less prevalent now, whereas those that are common in flu and cold sufferers such as congestion, a cough, headaches, a sore throat and sneezing are the norm.

Fortunately, there’s now a quick and easy solution to this available in Spain which can help anyone resolve any doubts about what virus they have, if any. Combined tests which allow users to find out whether they’ve become infected with Covid-19, influenza type A or influenza type B (two different strains of the flu) are being stocked in pharmacies across Spain since September 4th.

Their price is €2.94, slightly higher than that of antigen tests, since the Spanish government began to regulate their cost following huge price hikes based on high demand over the 2021 Christmas period.

In terms of how they are used, it’s no different to how antigen tests work. The user puts the swab deep up one or two of their nostrils and then places the sample on the tester to be provided with a positive or negative result. It’s expected that as the cold weather arrives in Spain over autumn, these combined self- test kits will become increasingly popular.

In other Covid-19 news, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez recently announced the country’s health ministry will start administering coronavirus vaccines adapted to new variants in late September and early October, starting with the most vulnerable.

READ ALSO: EU approves new dual-strain Covid vaccines in time for autumn booster campaigns

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COVID-19 TESTS

Spain sets price limit of €2.94 for an antigen test

The Spanish government on Thursday set a maximum price limit of €2.94 for antigen tests sold in pharmacies across the country, around a third of the price they’ve been going for before state regulation. 

Published: 13 January 2022 14:34 CET
Spain has studies the price of antigen tests in neighbouring countries to determine its new fixed price. Photo: FREDERICK FLORIN / AFP
Spain has studies the price of antigen tests in neighbouring countries to determine its new fixed price. Photo: FREDERICK FLORIN / AFP

From Saturday January 15th, buying an antigen test from a chemist in Spain will be considerably cheaper, now that the national government has decided pharmacies must sell each of these rapid self-tests for €2.94 at most. 

The drastic rise in demand recently, coupled with some shortages in supply, has led the price of antigen tests to more than double in many pharmacies, from €4 to €8, or higher still. 

Sales shot up 67 percent in the week before Christmas, equalling seven million antigen tests sold, and ever-increasing Omicron cases are keeping demand up in January 2022. 

On Monday Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced his government would regulate the antigen test market to prevent this “bottleneck” from happening again, and three days later Spaniards have a start date and a confirmed price drop. 

“The main objective has been to set a price that’s as affordable as possible, always maintaining the necessary balance so that the product is available in pharmacies,” Health Minister Carolina Darias said at a press conference on Thursday.

To set the maximum price of €2.94, the cost of antigen test throughout the distribution process has been taken into account, as well as the price of these items “in neighbouring countries”, where in many cases self-tests have been considerably cheaper than in Spain. 

The announcement follows a unanimous decision by Spain’s Medicines and Health Products Price Commission,  the Ministries of Finance and Economic Affairs and the country’s regional governments.

Unfortunately, the legislation still does not include the possibility of antigen tests being sold in supermarkets as is the case in other European countries, with over-the-counter antigen tests still only available in pharmacies in Spain.  

“I’ve read criticism that antigen tests aren’t sold in supermarkets. Spain has opted for them to be sold in pharmacies firstly because of the guarantees they provide and secondly because it’s necessary to give the results of these tests to the regions’ public health officials,” Sánchez argued.

While the market was deregulated, pharmacy associations pacted they would keep the price of antigen tests between €6 and €10, but at times of peaks in demand this price bracket has often been surpassed.

“We accept the price fix due to the commitment and vocation to public health and service that’s guided us during these two years of pandemic,” the president of Spain College of Pharmacists Jesús Aguilar said in response to the news. 

“The fixed price will lead to the majority of pharmacies to sell tests below the price they paid for them, but as pharmacists we have always put the health of our patients first”.

For Spanish consumer watchdog Facua, pharmacies will continue making a handsome profit given the enormous demand for antigen tests during this sixth wave of the pandemic in Spain. 

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