A single test costs £5.99
High street retailer Boots is selling lateral flow tests online at £17 for a pack of four, despite free tests still being available for more than a month.
On Monday, Boris Johnson announced that free symptomatic and asymptomatic testing will end from April 1 as part of the government’s living with covid plan.
This has caused demand to soar, with the government website running out of free tests across the country on Tuesday.
As people search for packs of tests, Boots have started selling them online – for a price.
Customers can pick up a pack of four for £17 or one test for £5.99, with the standard delivery of £3.75 waived.
From April 1, customers will then be able to purchase lateral flow tests in store for £12 for a pack of five.
ITV News reports that it is expected an individual test will cost £2.50, which is within the price range the government expects retailers to follow.
£5.99 for just one LFT.
In a pandemic that’s already disproportionally culled the vulnerable & poor, @10DowningStreet just skewed the odds of dying ever more steeply in favour of the rich & strong.
This is anti-public health.
It’s grotesquely selfish.https://t.co/0PUMkYuf24
— Dr Rachel Clarke (@doctor_oxford) February 22, 2022
The government is working with retailers to ensure tests are always available and expects a single tests to cost anywhere between £2 and £5 with a pack of seven costing around £20.
The UK Health Security Agency has said that people should keep checking the government website for test availability as this is refreshed regularly.
To prevent hoarding and stockpiling, people will only be able to order one box of tests every 72 hours instead of every 24 hours.
6 quid for a single LFT?
The pandemic has already exposed and exacerbated inequalities in this country.
This policy will only serve to deepen those rifts.
It feels like we haven't learned anything.https://t.co/UGzWcQEyym
— Kit Yates (@Kit_Yates_Maths) February 23, 2022
Boots UK director of healthcare services Asif Aziz said: “We are pleased to be expanding our covid-19 testing services even further, with affordable lateral flow testing options for those who still want peace of mind from asymptomatic testing after 1 April.
“While it is great that we are returning to normal and finding a way to live with covid-19, we encourage our customers and patients to stay safe and continue to take measures to limit the spread of the virus, especially to those in vulnerable groups.”
You can check the availability of covid tests in your area by visiting the NHS website here.
Related links:
- Boris Johnson confirms all remaining covid restrictions will be scrapped on Thursday
- Iran returns 820,000 vaccine doses as sixth covid wave hits because they were US-made
- Next covid variant could be worse than Omicron, warns Chris Whitty
