Rapid tests, instructions for use | Press

(Montreal) The free distribution of 4.2 million rapid screening tests for COVID-19 begins this Monday in pharmacies in Quebec. Everyone aged 14 and over will be able to purchase a box of five COVID-19 rapid tests. Here’s how to do it.

Alice Girard-Bossé
Press

How to receive your rapid test kit?

As of Monday, each pharmacy in Quebec will receive a first case of 108 kits of 5 tests. Some pharmacies in more remote regions will receive them on Tuesday at the latest.

The ways to get your kit will vary by pharmacy, tells Press Hugues Mousseau, Director General of the Quebec Association of Pharmacy Distributors.

Jean Coutu, Brunet and Familiprix will offer an online service that will allow Quebecers to reserve their box of COVID-19 tests in the majority of their affiliated pharmacies. To reserve, people must make an appointment on the website of one of the three companies.

For the majority of owner pharmacists affiliated with other chains and brands, such as Proxim, Uniprix, Pharmaprix, Accès pharma chez Walmart and Horizon Santé, they will offer tests on a first-come, first-served basis.

“To avoid disappointment or waiting given the limited availability, we invite people to check with their pharmacy that the test kits are available. Posters in pharmacies will also indicate the availability of tests, ”says Mousseau.

In total, nearly 4.2 million COVID-19 tests, or more than 800,000 kits, will be distributed to pharmacies across the province by the start of the holiday season.

Every day until December 23, new rapid tests will arrive in Quebec and will immediately be distributed to all pharmacies in Quebec. All the tests distributed in pharmacies will be of the BTNX type, like those offered in schools.

Can we go to more than one pharmacy to have more than one kit?

“No, it won’t be possible,” says Mousseau. When the kit is returned, a transaction will be recorded at the RAMQ associated with the patient’s health insurance number. “If the patient presents to another pharmacy, an alert will notify the pharmacist that the patient has already had his kit and will invite him to come back 30 days later,” he explains.

Mr. Mousseau also invites Quebeckers not to rush into the kits. “Families who already have tests at home are encouraged to give those who don’t yet have a chance to go later in the week,” he says.

He also suggests not taking a kit for each family member. “A family that does not yet have one could take one or two, rather than five all at once,” he explains.

“With 800,000 kits, we will not have enough for all Quebecers aged 14 and over, so we want the maximum possible to be able to have them,” he said.

When to use them?

The aim of rapid tests is to unclog screening clinics, says D^D Maryse Guay, professor at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at the University of Sherbrooke. “If we have symptoms or have been in contact with a positive case, we should have a rapid test,” she says.

For those who wish to use the tests for prevention before a holiday gathering, “it is absolutely necessary to use the test the same day before our meeting”, indicates Nathalie Grandvaux, researcher at the research laboratory on the host’s response to infections. virals from CHUM.

“If we go to a family meeting on the evening of December 24, for example, we should take the test in the afternoon,” says the specialist. The D^D Guay recalls that it is not because the test is negative that the mask and physical distancing should not be respected.

Benoit Barbeau, virologist and professor in the department of biological sciences at the University of Quebec at Montreal, also recommends doing a quick test before visiting a very vulnerable person.

How to use it ?

A rod should first be inserted at least half an inch (1.25 cm) inside one nostril until slight resistance is encountered.

Then, twist the rod through the nasal opening for at least five seconds. Use your fingers to compress the nostril to trap the tip of the swab. Twist the rod again for at least five seconds. Repeat the procedure in the other nostril.

Insert the swab into a tube containing the extraction liquid, then let stand for two minutes.

Place three drops of the liquid on the test strip and wait 15 minutes. If two lines appear, the test is positive. If only one line appears, the test is negative.

If the test is positive, the person will need to do a PCR test at a screening clinic to confirm their result.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of rapid tests?

The tests make results available after a few minutes, are useful for quickly identifying infected people, and can be easily used by anyone.

However, they can give false positive results in people who are not infected. People who test positive on a rapid antigenic test should therefore have their result confirmed by a laboratory test.

Tests can also give false negative results in people who are infected. These false negatives are more common with rapid tests than with PCR tests, says Barbeau.

“Despite the lower sensitivity, if we are able to detect a proportion of infected people, that’s the important thing,” he concludes.