From Monday, rapid tests will no longer be accessible free of charge to everyone in pharmacies. Only people deemed to be at high risk of complications and citizens benefiting from free medication under the public prescription drug insurance plan will have free access to these COVID-19 screening tests.
The Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS) made the announcement last March, specifying that rapid tests will be distributed in the 1,900 community pharmacies in Quebec until March 31, 2024.
Among those at high risk of complications who will still be able to get the tests for free are immunosuppressed adults, people aged 60 and over, pregnant women and adults living with a chronic illness.
People who do not meet these criteria will, however, be able to buy rapid tests at pharmacies, at a cost of around $20 per test.
For the president of the Quebec Association of Proprietary Pharmacists (AQPP), Benoit Morin, the end of the free distribution of rapid tests to the general public is not worrying.
“It won’t have a big impact, because the demand is indeed very low,” says Mr. Morin. Sometimes it is the pharmacist who will recommend testing a vulnerable clientele for whom it is important to identify whether it is COVID or not. »
According to the pharmacist, it is “nearly the end of the general program” that is creating the demand for rapid tests at the present time.
For non-vulnerable people who do not live with a person at risk, the important thing now is to isolate themselves and have adequate respiratory etiquette, as is the case for all viruses, underlines Mr. Morin. “We are no longer in the kind of movement where it is absolutely necessary to isolate and screen ourselves”, evokes the president of the AQPP.
Respiratory hygiene and etiquette help prevent the transmission of various infections. These include hand washing, for all, and wearing a surgical mask, for people with respiratory symptoms.
The AQPP lists that pharmacies in the province have distributed nearly 9,250,000 self-test kits since the start of the program.
The distribution of rapid test kits will continue in schools and early childhood centers, the MSSS said.
This dispatch was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta Exchange and The Canadian Press for the news.
