From next week, it will be possible to buy antigen tests at the pharmacy without a prescription in Spain. Health minister Carolina Darias announced this afternoon that next Tuesday's cabinet meeting will approve a decree making it possible to sell these rapid self-diagnosis tests without having to see a doctor first, according to EuropaPress.
Darias reported the measure to the congressional committee on health and consumer affairs today, and justified it because of the need to "increase diagnostic capacity to quickly identify positive cases, even when they are asymptomatic" as a result of the rapid rise in cases caused by the fifth Covid wave in which the whole Spanish state is immersed, with Catalonia particularly affected. The minister acknowledged that the current requirement for a prescription constitutes “a barrier”.
What are antigen self-tests?
Antigen self-tests are on sale exclusively in pharmacies in the Spanish state, but a prescription is currently required to be able to purchase them. They are recommended in the first seven days after Covid-19 infection or the first five days after the onset of symptoms. They have specificity of up to 97%, that is to say, most people who are healthy will get a negative result. The self-tests have a price of around 8 euros.
The tests offer results in a period between 15 and 20 minutes. If the result is positive, self-isolation should be started immediately and your local health service should be contacted - in Catalonia, your CAP centre or the 061 Health line.
These tests should be complemented with other diagnostic methods. A positive result means you are almost certain to have Covid, but a negative result from an antigen test is not conclusive, as these tests have lower sensitivity than PCRs and may not react if the viral load is low, which happens in the initial or final days of infection. For this reason, the Spanish health ministry recommends, after a negative result, continuing to apply full safety measures if there is any suspicion of infection.
Thus, an antigen test may still leave you in some doubt about your situation, if the result is negative. But a positive result means that you know you are infected - with the same certainty as with a PCR test - and must act accordingly.
Reduce care pressure on health centres
The decree law passed through Spain's Council of State last Friday. The draft of the law asserts the generalized introduction of this testing method will reduce "care pressure on health centres" and "allow the rapid identification of cases suspected of being positive."
"Given that the requirement of holding a prescription for the sale to the public of these products constitutes an important barrier to their use, it is appropriate to include them among the self-test products exempted from the need for prescription when acquired in pharmacies", explains the Spanish health ministry in the text.
Main image, a woman applying an antigen self-test / ACN