As the pandemic shifts to an endemic, marked by Prime Minister Boris Johnson announcing plans for how the country can begin ‘Living with Covid,’ lateral flow and PCR tests will no longer be free.
The PM unveiled the plan at Parliament in February, also revealing the end of self-isolation.
With official testing data showing that over 900,000 tests are taken a day, how much will tests start to cost, and will anyone still be able to get them for free?
Here is everything you need to know.
From Friday, April 1, free lateral flow and PCR testing will come to an end in England.
The general public will no longer be able to order free lateral flow tests, and free PCR testing will no longer be available.
Free testing for those without symptoms end on April 18 in Scotland.
Northern Ireland and Wales are yet to announce any changes to their Covid-19 tests.
There is no fixed price for Covid-19 tests after the end of free testing.
Boots have begun selling individual lateral flow tests for £5.99 each, or £17 for a pack of four.
The pharmacy stated that: ‘This test will offer customers an option to send their results to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) to report a negative test, should customers need it.’
Boots said a cheaper test costing £2.50 would be made available without the option to report results. It is unclear whether the cheaper tests are considered valid by the UKHSA.
This comes after the MailOnline reported that people face paying up to £20 for a box of seven tests.
Despite the hefty price tag, experts believe lateral flow tests can cost just pennies to make.
Dr Alexander Edwards, an associate professor in biomedical technology at Reading University, said: ‘Lateral flow tests are really cheap to manufacture, what costs is making high quality tests, and following all the regulatory requirements.
‘So there is no reason why tests should cost more in UK than elsewhere in Europe, but tests can vary in quality, so it’s possible that the really cheap products are less reliable.’
When LFTs and PCRs were required for travelling abroad, prices for the tests from private companies fluctuated wildly, costing anywhere from £15 to hundreds of pounds – as is the nature of private companies.
Accoridng to Downing Street business minister Paul Scully, the tests are ending as the UK ‘cannot continue forevermore spending £2billion a month on tests’.
He said: ‘There’s a lot of other backlogs in the NHS, other illnesses in the NHS, that that money could otherwise go for.’
Some people, such as the over-80s and those vulnerable to Covid-19, are expected to be able to continue to access free testing.
Those working in high-risk settings such as frontline health and social care workers are also set to continue to have access to free tests.
The Prime Minister said full details of ‘who will continue to be entitled to free tests’ will be set out in full later this month.
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