Bologna, 31 January 2021 – Pharmacy increasingly at the forefront of the war against Covid. In agreement with the Region, from tomorrow anyone – provided they are enrolled in the regional health care system – will be able to carry out the rapid nasal antigen test (the so-called rapid swab) and the serological test in affiliated pharmacies at the controlled price of 15 euro.
“And you won’t need a prescription: just book at the pharmacy and show up for the appointment”, he says Achille Gallina Toschi, president of Federfarma Emilia-Romagna, the association that brings together over 1200 pharmacy owners in our region.
President Gallina Toschi, how did you welcome this news?
“With absolute favor. Because it confirms the central role of the pharmacy, the first gateway to the national health system, widely distributed throughout the territory”.
Do you already have an idea of what the citizens’ response will be?
“Data on reservations are not yet available. We have to wait for the regional platform to be updated. Of course, the demand in recent months has been very high”.
From when can you then book?
“We have suggested that pharmacies take reservations starting Wednesday. Then we will start with the tests.”
How is the experience of free serological tests, which can be done in pharmacies for students and family members since October?
“Very good. At the end of December, that is, in just over two months, we had carried out about 35 thousand tests. An unprecedented result, not only in Italy. Then the interest shifted to nasal swabs”.
With what result?
“We left in December. We still don’t have the data. But we are talking about important numbers, in the order of 4-5 thousand”.
How many pharmacies had joined these first ‘campaigns’ in the Region?
“Of the approximately 1,200 pharmacies in the region, nearly a thousand have signed up for the serological test, about 700 for swabs. We are talking about a service that requires some space, which not everyone has available. Where it was possible, especially in small municipalities , we found rooms adjacent to the pharmacy where you can carry out the tests “.
One of the key points is the traceability of the tests. Is it also confirmed in this new phase?
“Absolutely yes. This is a fundamental detail. The traceability of the test remains, through the ‘Sole’ platform and the information to the general practitioner. Whether the test is carried out by the National Health Service or by the citizen “.
Has the pandemic changed the role of the pharmacist?
“Pharmacies, especially in our region, have always been a point of reference for citizens. Let’s not forget that, in Emilia-Romagna, we were the first in Italy to introduce the Cup in pharmacies. Let’s say that the pandemic – which has seen, fortunately, always open – has consolidated even more the already close relationship between the citizen and his pharmacist “.
The latest Covid bulletin – The point on vaccines in Emilia Romagna
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