Cough, sore throat, nasal congestion, headache or fever. These have been the most common symptoms in covid infections and can be confused with other conditions, such as the flu. Since they started being marketed in pharmacies during the summer of 2021, i use of antigen tests for coronavirus self-diagnosis it has spread among the population.
Now the combined SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A / B antigen tests have arrived at the pharmacy. “This type of test works the same as conventional tests we are already used to. The sample can be nasal or salivary and once obtained the sample is mixed with the reagent and the mixture is poured into the test cassette,” they explain. General Council of Pharmaceutical Associations.
How to interpret the result
We are nearing the end of the covid-19 pandemic, as World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus recently assured after the previous week, the lowest number of deaths since March 2020 was recorded.
However, the WHO director-general also asked not to reduce efforts to combat this health crisis. “Stopping now means risking more variants of the coronavirus, more deaths, more problems and more uncertainty, “he stressed.
In this sense, the arrival of this type of test represents a further step to improve the detection of the disease. And how do they work? “Instead of a single line of evidence for SARS-CoV2, we will have three lines of evidence: one for influenza A, another for influenza B and one for detecting the COVID-19 virus “add the experts of the General Council of Pharmaceutical Colleges.
What is the price of these tests
After taking the sample, you need to wait 15 to 20 minutes.as for antigen tests, in order to read the result according to the highlighted line.
This type of test, like the rest, can only be purchased at the pharmacy and It will not be necessary to have a recipe to acquire them. And what is its price? As highlighted in the General Council of Pharmacists, the price of this health product is set according to the Agreement of the Interministerial Commission on Drug Prices of January 13, 2022. Therefore, the maximum retail price will be € 2.94 per unit.
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