Why Rapid Covid Tests Are So Expensive and Hard to Find(propublica.org)
propublica.org
Why Rapid Covid Tests Are So Expensive and Hard to Find
https://www.propublica.org/article/heres-why-rapid-covid-tests-are-so-expensive-and-hard-to-find
4 comments
Tests are not free, it's just taxpayers paying for them.
When someone says that these tests are "free" with respect to availability to the public, they mean that they are free to the citizen/consumer at the point of sale. There is no out of pocket expense to get tested.
If you want to bend the meaning of "free" to mean "consumes no resources", then nothing ever is "free".
But of course, that's not how we generally use the word.
But of course, that's not how we generally use the word.
I am well aware of that. My point was rather: if you want people to get tested for Covid, it helps to make it readily available and cheap.
So how does that work with lockdowns? Are these free?
In the U.S. most Walgreens have free rapid-result PCR tests for anyone (ID Now by Abbott).
I live in a Canadian town of >100,000 just north of the border, and here I can't find anywhere that does rapid-result PCR testing for non-symptomatic people.
The only rapid-result non-symptomatic testing I can find here are antigen tests, which ironically Canada doesn't consider a diagnostic test and isn't accepted for travel.
I live in a Canadian town of >100,000 just north of the border, and here I can't find anywhere that does rapid-result PCR testing for non-symptomatic people.
The only rapid-result non-symptomatic testing I can find here are antigen tests, which ironically Canada doesn't consider a diagnostic test and isn't accepted for travel.
"Because the UK bought them all and give them away for free to Citizens on the street in bulk".
Here in Austria you can just walk into a pharmacy and get tested for Covid (either rapid antigen test or PCR test). The test result automatically shows up in the "Grüner Pass" app (https://gruenerpass.gv.at/) - or can be downloaded from a link. All of this is free of cost.