The Ministry of Health has already distributed more than six million tests for professional use from the national reserve, acquired by the National Institute of Health Management (INGESA), between the autonomous communities and cities, according to data provided by the department headed by Carolina Darias. In the month of January alone, the Ministry has distributed one million of these professional tests and a shipment of a similar amount is expected to take place in the coming days. These types of tests are are used in health centers, hospitals, private clinics or laboratories and must be carried out by qualified personnel. The distribution occurs after the government regulation of the price of self-diagnosis tests for sale in pharmacies. Pharmacies where, by the way, these days, this type of evidence is beginning to be scarce again.
The distribution of this amount, according to the Ministry, has been made taking into account objective criteria between the autonomous communities and cities that have requested this support. ‘The Early Response Plan, in a scenario of control of the covid-19 pandemic’, establishes that they must guarantee sufficient capacity of human and material resources, both in Primary Care and in hospital, which allows responding to the extra activity associated with an increase in SARS-CoV-2 transmission, as well as guaranteeing the availability of personal protection equipment appropriate to the type of care and the training of staff in its use.
RECENT MINISTRY PURCHASES
The strategic reserve, they indicate from Health, has the task of supporting communities when they find themselves in supply difficulties. The million tests distributed this month are part of a consignment of five million recently acquired by the National Institute of Health Management (INGESA). As revealed THE NEWSPAPER OF SPAIN, the national reserve of sanitary material of the Government had -as of December 28- of 799,569 units of this type of diagnostic tests, much lower than the amount available to this body today.
The last purchase of these products took place in the month of December and the contracting procedure has been processed by emergency.
In fact, with Health data, the last purchase of these products took place precisely in the month of December and the contracting procedure has been processed by emergency “Given the unavoidable need to have stock in the strategic reserve of the National Health System” due to the increase in requests that the autonomous communities were making to the Ministry due to the shortage of self-diagnostic tests that pharmacies suffered in those days. In this case, INGESA requested offers from seven companies in the sector.
It must be remembered that the shortage of self-diagnosis tests in Spanish pharmacies meant that, before Christmas, the Executive announced, as one of the measures to stop the rapid advance of the sixth wave, that it would authorize their sale in pharmacies professional use tests (such as those sent to health centers, hospitals or used for mass screening) that are part of that strategic reserve and that are sent to the communities if they so request.
In the case of professional tests that can be sold in pharmacies, Health specified to this newspaper that they did not come from the strategic reserve, but were from the “free market”; that is, those that are in the distribution channels and that importers acquire from the international market. As you have been able to find out THE NEWSPAPER OF SPAIN, newspaper belonging to the same editorial group as this medium, despite this authorization, the tests for professional use They have barely reached the pharmacies.
Different from self-diagnostic tests
The tests for professional use are not the same as the self-diagnosis tests that are purchased in pharmacies and whose price has been regulated (at 2.94 euros) since last Saturday. This type of evidence, remember from the Ministry, They are technically different products. for its level of sensitivity and diagnostic spectrum.
After a Christmas marked by scarcity and the high prices of these products (which were sold for up to 10 euros) due to the advance of the omicron variant, importers, distributors and pharmacists indicated a few days ago that this supply had been restored. However, this newspaper has been able to verify in different Madrid pharmacies that there are several establishments where there are no longer rapid tests. The explanation of some apothecaries that very few tests arrive –an average of 30 first thing in the morning– which are sold immediately due to the low price they now have that omicron continues without respite in the number of infections.
Only yesterday, Monday and throughout Spain, the distributor Cofares sold 800,000 self-diagnostic antigen tests to pharmacies.
From the General Council of Colleges of Pharmacists They indicate that they are not aware of this new shortage. However, some importers inform this newspaper that the reason why they may be missing again in the pharmacies is because “they have sold a lot since the maximum price has been set” and they add that, this time, the distributors are programming the orders in advance and a new shortage is not expected.
For its part, Cofares, one of the large distribution companies of medicines in Spain, they are also not aware that pharmacies are experiencing a lack of supply of tests. “We continue to supply tests,” they point out. As an example, they indicate that, only yesterday, Monday and throughout Spain, they sold 800,000 self-diagnostic tests to pharmacies.