COVID-19: renewed enthusiasm for rapid tests

More and more Quebecers are purchasing rapid tests to detect COVID-19, even though tens of thousands of them contract a respiratory virus every day.

• Read also: Can we celebrate Christmas with our loved ones if we are recovering from a major virus like COVID-19? Experts advocate common sense

“Demand has increased considerably over the past month,” notes Benoit Morin, president of the Quebec Association of Pharmacist Owners (AQPP).

Last Wednesday, the national director of public health, D^r Luc Boileau, emphasized at a press briefing that 40 to 50,000 people contract COVID-19 every day in the province. And that a million Quebecers had been infected by a respiratory virus in recent weeks.

Despite a resurgence in popularity for rapid tests, Mr. Morin recalls that in pharmacies, these tests are now only given to people who are immunosuppressed or have chronic illnesses, to social assistance recipients, or to young people and students.

Rapid tests are available free of charge mainly in vaccination centers, but not in hospitals or CLSCs, as noted The newspaper in several establishments. Some regions, such as South-Central Montreal, have only two distribution points, according to the government list.

Furthermore, a vaccination center in Verdun, in Montreal, now keeps rapid tests at the entrance, given the greater crowds to obtain them.

“At the Quebec level, there is no availability issue,” explains Hugues Mousseau, of the Quebec Association of Pharmacy Distributors.

A positive rapid test is particularly necessary to obtain Paxlovid treatment^MC, with the recommendation of a healthcare professional. This is the treatment, in tablet form, which aims to reduce the severity of symptoms for people who are at risk of suffering serious complications.

“We are going to recommend that our vulnerable customers get tested,” underlines the pharmacist, who expects to see prescriptions for Paxlovid increase in the coming weeks.

Test yourself before a party?

However, he does not believe that it is necessary for all Quebecers to systematically insert a stick into their nostrils, a few days before Christmas gatherings, to decide whether or not they can go to a loved one’s house.

“If you are symptomatic, you stay at home, it doesn’t matter,” he pleads, about the basic rule to follow.

What you need to know about rapid tests

Rapid tests are distributed free of charge to all Quebecers in vaccination centers.

• people for whom treatment is being considered for COVID-19, such as Paxlovid^MC;
• people benefiting from free medications under the public drug insurance plan (recipients of last-resort financial assistance and people aged 65 and over with low income);
• young people aged 14 to 17;
• full-time students aged 18 to 25.

Target audience for Paxlovid^MC:

• An adult person (18 years and older) with severe immunosuppression;
• A person aged 60 and over who is at risk of suffering from complications;
• An adult person under the age of 60 with at least one concurrent illness or condition;
• A pregnant person who is at risk of suffering from complications;
• A person under the age of 18 with at least one concurrent illness or condition.

To benefit from it, these people must also:

• not present any contraindication;
• have been symptomatic for five days or less;
• have confirmed COVID-19 infection through a screening test;
• not be hospitalized.