Two more weeks to meet the high demand. The sale of self-tests in supermarkets, authorized since the beginning of January for a month, will be extended until February 15, according to a decree published on Saturday in Official newspaper. It was previously reserved for
pharmacies.
The executive judged that “the sustainability of the screening strategy, in a context of intense circulation of variant Omicron (…) implies extending the duration of this derogation once”.
Pharmacists not really for
The authorization, announced at the end of December, had angered pharmacists who had until then had a monopoly on the sale of self-tests. In particular, they accused supermarkets of being responsible for stock shortages in certain pharmacies.
With the arrival of the Omicron variant, the incidence exploded in France, as in many other countries, and led to an unprecedented increase in the number of tests carried out.
In January alone, the cost of tests for the state, which therefore includes PCR, antigens and self-tests under certain conditions, will amount to 1.5 billion euros, recalled Saturday on France Info TV the Minister Delegate for Public Accounts Olivier Dussopt, against 6.9 billion euros for the whole of 2021.