Health Insurance will not cover self-testing for Covid-19 carried out during the holiday season, as had been anticipated by the main union of pharmacists, the Minister of Health said on Saturday.
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@olivierveran: "The self-test is less reliable than the antigen test and less reliable than the PCR test, which is why it did not find its audience in France".
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- France Inter (@franceinter) December 18, 2021
“The self-test costs 5.20 euros.
PCRs, antigenic tests are free (for vaccinated people), we make nearly a million per day, all costs have been supported from the start by national solidarity ”, argued Olivier Véran on France Inter.
In addition, the self-test, although useful, is "less reliable" than the PCR or antigen test and "is not a totem of immunity", added the Minister.
Another problem: the self-test cannot be traced.
Read also Anti-Covid self-tests: is there a risk of positive cases disappearing in nature?
"He did not find his audience in France," recognizes Olivier Véran.
This is why "there (will be) no free self-tests distributed in pharmacies".
The Federation of Pharmaceutical Unions of France (FSPF) said on Friday that the government was preparing to announce a reimbursement of self-tests up to two per person between December 20 and January 2.
Mission impossible for pharmacists
Fearing "strong demand", this union regretted that pharmacists were "not warned early enough" to increase their stocks, estimated "between 800,000 and one million self-tests".
"If they had been taken care of, it was impossible to provide the request of all the French, so ultimately this option was not retained" during the Health Defense Council on Friday afternoon, explained in the evening. even on France Info the president of the FSPF, Philippe Besset.
Read also Covid tests: deadlines, reliability ... what you need to know to take precautions before Christmas
In an opinion published this Saturday, the Scientific Council recommends, however, to "limit the size of festive events" and "to be widely tested on December 31".
