Seventh covid wave | New ‘boom’ in antigen test sales: demand soars by 120%.

The advance of a seventh wave of coronavirus in the middle of the summer has returned to triggering the sale of antigen tests self-diagnostic in pharmacies. From apothecaries, at least in Madridone of the communities with the highest incidence of cases, assure that there is no shortage. According to the ‘Observatorio de Tendencias’ of Cofaresthe cooperative for the distribution of medicines, health products and services, the demand for tests has increased by 119.7% so far in July (from 1 to 4), compared to the same period last year. the previous month.

The sudden advance in the number of infections by the new variants is behind this growth, according to the analysis performed by the pharmaceutical cooperative. Again, the sale of this type of test in apothecaries gives the measure of the progress of the pandemic. According to data this Tuesday from the Ministry of Health, the accumulated incidence in the over 60 years of age has risen 139 points compared to the last report and 294 in one week, with 1,135.3 cases, still at medium risk, according to this department’s indicators.

Four communities are already at high riskwith an incidence of more than 1,500 cases: Madrid, Extremadura, Castilla-La Mancha and La Rioja. Among the population over 60 years of agethe over 70 and 80 year-olds account for more than 1,000 cases. In addition, the number of people hospitalized for coronavirus in Spain has increased by 21.2% during the last week, with increases in all the autonomous communities. There has also been a 15.9% increase in the number of patients in intensive care for covid-19 and a 15.9% increase in the number of patients in intensive care for covid-19. Ministry of Health has notified 353 new deaths from the pandemic since last Tuesday.

Cofares indicates that last April, coinciding with the end of the mandatory use of masks indoors, there was a monthly increase of 22.29 % in the demand for tests. a monthly increase of 22.29%. in the demand for antigen testing. Now, the increase in the number of covid-19 cases is converging. of the seventh wave with the spike in demand for these self-diagnostic tools, which, they insist, has doubled.

There is no shortage

However, although the demand for this type of testing is very high, from communities such as Madridone of those at high risk, admits that for the moment no shortages have been recorded of this type of medical devices. This was reported to EL PERIÓDICO DE ESPAÑA, a newspaper that belongs to the same group as this newspaper, from the Official College of Pharmacists of this region.

This is also confirmed by Protect Lineone of the main importers in Spain of the world’s best-selling rapid antigen test, the one from the Chinese company DBTrading. Xiamen Boson Biotech, which indicates to this newspaper that they have just delivered 600,000 units and its customers, the main pharmaceutical distributors, have stock.

Over-the-counter sales

Over-the-counter dispensing of test for self-diagnosis in pharmacies -in Spain they can only be sold in pharmacies-. was approved on July 20, 2021. By Christmas, with the omicron variant leaving thousands of positives daily, getting one of these tests, until then freely priced, from drugstores became mission impossible generating an enormous controversy because of the price that these medical devices reached.

Last January, the Interministerial Commission on the Prices of Medicines, a collegiate body of the. Ministry of Health, of which other ministries and the autonomous communities are part, limited the maximum price of antigen self-testing. The more than 22,000 Spanish pharmacies began to sell the test at a maximum of 2.94 euros, a price set by the Government in view of the advance of the omicron variant, which led to an unusual increase in the consumption of these home-made tests and the sale of no less than almost twenty million units of this type of tests, of which there was an enormous shortage.

According to the ‘Cofares Trends’ report.published after two years of pandemic, 9 out of 10 Spaniards (93.8%) consider that having self-diagnostic tools, such as antigen tests, help them to cope with the situation and to take the right decisions. control of the disease. It was already clear to 40% of Spaniards at that time that this type of health products would become part of the Spanish medicine cabinet, According to the distributor.