Antigen test price capped at €2.94, but no plans to sell them in supermarkets

RETAIL prices for fast-result antigen tests will be capped at €2.94 in response to popular demand, but Spain's government has ruled out selling them in supermarkets instead of or in addition to high-street pharmacies.

Antigen tests, which give a reading within approximately 10 to 30 minutes, are typically used by people wanting to 'prove they are negative' to put their own minds at rest or those of friends or family they will be spending time with.

Also, entry to bars, restaurants, nightclubs and other venues – concerts, sports stadia, or similar – generally now requires everyone to produce a 'Covid certificate', which can be downloaded from their regional health authority website and produced as a paper print-out or on a mobile phone for the QR code to be scanned by venue staff.

Where the person is not fully vaccinated, they need to take an antigen test and get a negative result to be able to show a certificate.

Everyone aged 12 and over will already have been given the option of a vaccine, and nine in 10 of those have taken it up, but in a few rare cases, certain health conditions, such as allergies to the content, might mean someone cannot be inoculated even if they would like to – meaning they have to resort to antigen tests whenever they want to go out.

Those who suspect they may have been in contact with a positive, or who have been somewhere crowded, especially indoors, and are feeling uncertain, may want to take a test for peace of mind.

Antigen tests do not give sufficient information for a diagnosis or treatment, meaning a positive result should always be followed up with a PCR.

A petition on Change.org started by a pharmacist in Madrid called for the government to reduce prices of over-the-counter antigen test kits, since, even though they are exempt from value-added tax (IVA, or IGIC in the Canary Islands), speculation has meant that in times of high demand, their cost to the end consumer has tended to rise.

Even when demand is lower, they have still been retailing at between €6 and €10, which can be prohibitive for those on a low income, especially family units who want to test every member of the household.

At €6 to €10, antigen tests in Spain were among the highest-priced in Europe – other than in Switzerland, where they range from €7 to €20, except for healthcare workers and possible contacts, who get them free.

France sells them at €6, Ireland at €8, Belgium, Italy and The Netherlands between €5 and €10, but Portugal and Greece sell them at €2.10, Germany at €1.75, and, in the UK, they are provided free to anyone who asks for one.

In Germany, France, Ireland, Portugal, The Netherlands, and a handful of other European countries, antigen tests can be bought from supermarkets as well as high-street pharmacies, which means they can be found more cheaply, but Spain has opted not to do this.

Unlike many European nations – including the UK – where certain non-prescription drugs such as paracetamol, aspirin, ibuprofen, cough medicine and cold and 'flu remedies can be picked up from supermarket shelves, anything remotely medical beyond sticking plasters, vitamins and herbal remedies can only be purchased over the counter at a licensed pharmacy in Spain.

The new maximum price of €2.94 has led to differing responses – pharmacies say they will be selling them at less than cost price, but for 'social responsibility reasons', are willing to make a loss on their sale, whilst the national consumer organisation FACUA says €2.94 is still too high as it leaves plenty of room for profit, which is not the idea of them.

FACUA believes the cost price, charged by the manufacturers and wholesalers, is too expensive, which is why pharmacies will make a loss on them but those producing them at source will have 'considerable room for making big money' from their sales.

The Change.org petition, despite being created by a pharmacist, called for antigen tests to be retailed in mainstream supermarkets as an alternative, since this way the price could be capped at a very low figure without supposing any real loss to the sellers – this loss would be absorbed by profits made on other goods in store, and reduced considerably by economies of scale, given that these are national or multi-national chains rather than, as is the case with most pharmacies, small family-run businesses with just one or two branches.