After having finally obtained exclusivity in March for the sale of self-tests to the detriment of supermarkets, this screening device sold in pharmacies has only met with very relative success since its deployment.
While the self-tests have been available for sale since April 12, the Federation of Pharmaceutical Syndicates of France (FSPF) reports that 600,000 self-tests have since been sold in 21,000 pharmacies in France.
Read also: No self-tests in supermarkets: the controversy mounts over the blocking of the government
Presented by the Scientific Council as being "
easy-to-use devices
", with "
performance levels close to those of rapid tests
" which "
do not require a professional operator
", antigenic self-tests (ATAG) nevertheless remain today. much less privileged than other screening devices. This is particularly supported by Philippe Besset, president of the FSPF, who estimates that each week “
700,000 antigenic tests and 2 million PCR tests
” are carried out. A mixed result, therefore, for these self-tests sold in boxes of 5 units.
This low demand can be seen in particular in neighborhood pharmacies, representing around 20,000 pharmacies and generally frequented by regulars.
"
We practice so many antigenic tests that we hardly sell a self-test, barely a box a day
," notes a pharmacist working rue de Charonne in the 11th arrondissement of Paris.
We order boxes piecemeal.
There, for example, we have 4 in stock
”.
Pricing and reliability issues
However, stocks, this is not what is lacking. “
1.5 million self-tests have been reserved for pharmacies
,” explains the Ministry of Health.
And manufacturers are able to produce and deliver at least 20 million in the coming months
”. At the origin of this weak demand for self-tests, problems of confidence, price and time are put forward by Philippe Besset. “
Antigenic tests have the triple advantage of being done by a professional, of being free and of being more reliable
,” he explains.
But making the self-tests available in a supervised manner responds to the problem of not refusing them to people,
”continues the president of the FSPF.
Sold at € 6 each, they have the defect of having a sensitivity lower than that of a PCR test: 81%, for people with symptoms, but only 50% for asymptomatic.
The latter are, however, those targeted by the public authorities to use this screening device, which is why these self-tests cannot be used in an exceptional manner.
To read also: Self-tests in schools: what results in the countries which already use them?
Deployment in schools
For its part, the Scientific Council puts forward two distinct logics to justify the marketing of these self-tests. On the one hand, a logic of
individual
“
security
”, making it possible to protect oneself before going to a private event such as a family reunion. On the other hand, a collective and public health approach, to be used in the context of iterative screening organized over time and allowing certain spaces or groups of people to be quickly secured.
