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It is true that the tools that pharmacies sell are only for self-checks. If the infection is revealed, the person will still have to go to the mobile point and, in the words of Deputy Health Minister Živilė Simonaitytė, “get a real test.”
Wider use would make testing cheaper
Mindaugas Urbas, Head of Marketing and Communication, BENU Pharmacy Network lrytas.lt He said the pharmacy network he represents already provides access to antigen and antibody testing, but only by special order.
“We have all kinds of antigen tests: when analyzing a sample from the nose (you can buy 10 pieces each), from the saliva and from the blood, you can also buy one of the last two types of tests.
With the wider use of rapid tests, prices are expected to drop, but today the minimum cost of the rapid COVID-19 antigen test is almost € 10, ”said Mr. Urbas.
He stressed that all the tests offered so far are for professional use, and that the self-test and its result are not yet equivalent to the tests carried out officially in clinics or mobile checkpoints.
This is because the legal framework that defines the sale, use and quality of the tests and the justification of the results have not yet been adequately developed.
“As far as we know, the Ministry of Health is currently discussing this type of test, but there are no clearer instructions yet. If a special list were drawn up to include pharmacies, the test purchased here would also be considered valid and its results would be considered reliable.
Then the purchase would no longer require a special order, the COVID-19 tests would appear on the shelves of both physical pharmacies, and e. In commerce. Under the current procedure, only clinics that perform tests can take responsibility for the test results, ”explained a representative from the BENU pharmacy network.
The order is still pending
Irena Tėvelienė, marketing director of Gintarinės vaistinė for the portal lrytas.lt These network pharmacies are already prepared to market two types of COVID-19 antigen tests: the detection of the COVID-19 antigen in saliva and the COVID-19 antigen test kit by taking a sample from the nose.
“We are ready to commercialize them, we are only waiting for instructions from the Ministry of Health on the commercial procedure for these tests.” The price is still adjusting, “said I.Tėvelienė.
According to the representative of “Gintarinės vaistinė”, the test market offers enough, so dealers have to choose.
“However, not all of them are reliable because not all of them have the necessary quality documentation, so for us, as distributors, one of the key challenges is to self-assess their quality and to provide patients with only reliable tests because the health of the patient is primordial.
According to the procedure that will soon come into effect, the approval of the VASPVT (State Service for Accreditation of Sanitary Activities under the SAM) will also be necessary for compliance with the established requirements, without such approval it will not be possible to provide evidence for non-use professional, ”said I.Tėvelienė.
The result is within 10 minutes.
Žiedūnė Juškytė, director of the Camelia pharmacy network communication project, said rapid COVID-19 antigen tests, which are performed from saliva, are now available at Camelia pharmacies.
Currently, one of these tests in Camelia pharmacies costs 15.99 euros.
In addition, the pharmacy plans to expand its range. “We plan to have rapid COVID-19 antigen tests in pharmacies, which are done by nasal sampling, soon,” he added.
COVID-19 antigen tests performed on patient saliva are designed to qualitatively detect SARS-CoV-2 antigens in human saliva samples and nasopharyngeal swabs. This test is used to detect SARS-CoV-2 virus antigens in people suspected of having COVID-19 disease.
These tests are also recommended for workplaces where telecommuting is not possible, especially those that employ large numbers of people and have a high probability of spreading the virus. These tests are also useful for people who work or supervise people who are particularly at risk for COVID-19 (older people with chronic illnesses, etc.). The result of such tests clears up very quickly, after 10 minutes.
Power alone on its own
According to Ž.Simonaitytė, if COVID-19 is examined independently, a person will have neither the mandatory isolation requirement nor the possibility of receiving, for example, the disability benefit; you will still have to check it at a mobile point.
“Let’s start with the fact that it will be possible to buy a test in pharmacies that a person can take and that it will be less invasive, not of the nasopharynx, but of the nasal cavity or saliva,” the Deputy Minister of Health told the Committee on Seimas Budget and Finance on Wednesday.
“They (tests – BNS) will be to raise awareness, for self-examination,” he added.
The vice minister stressed that tests in pharmacies would only be sold, not carried out.
Ž. According to Simonaitytė, after the self-test, if the infection is revealed, the person will still have to go to the mobile point and “take a real test”.
“These tests will not create all the other conditions that other tests create: they will not turn positive after self-assessment other than mandatory isolation or disability benefits,” Ž. Simonaitytė.
Offers to prioritize
Kristina Nemaniūtė-Gagė, Director of the Lithuanian Pharmacy Association, is convinced that people using rapid tests should have the opportunity to prioritize mobile checkpoints.
“If a person has been tested, he sees that it is positive that it would be a priority for him to register at a mobile point, that there would be a faster normal test, that there would be more confidence in all tests,” he added. K. Nemaniūtė-Gagė spoke at the committee.
According to her, it is now not possible to buy tests in Lithuanian pharmacies, because only tests intended for professional use are approved in the European Union.
“If a person bought them, they would have to take them to a medical institution to have that test done. Other countries allow these tests to be sold and people use them for self-monitoring, but solutions are needed: the accreditation service has to say what kind of test, and the ministry has to approve the procedure, we are waiting for those things, ”he said. the pharmacy representative.
