With the holidays fast approaching, many Canadians are looking for ways to ensure their holiday gatherings are safe amid warnings that the Omicron variant is picking up speed in the country.
Rapid antigen tests (RATs), which offer on-the-spot COVID-19 test results in less than 20 minutes, have become the centre of holiday gathering discussions. But thanks to a muddled distribution process and high prices, getting the tests into the hands of Canadians who need them has so far proven difficult.
鈥淚f we had this test readily available for families, I think people will want to test before they go to congregate settings or large indoor gatherings,鈥 Birgit Umaigba, an Ontario-based ICU and ER Registered Nurse, said in a telephone interview with CTVNews.ca Tuesday.
鈥淏ut without equitable access, it is impossible to achieve that鈥ot many people can afford to pay $40 for the rapid tests, especially if you have a family of five, six, seven.鈥
Umaigba is one of the many health professionals vocally advocating for provincial governments to make RATs free to address inequity in testing access and prohibitive costs.
Experts say the tests are crucial for reducing transmission at this stage in the pandemic.
鈥淎re people going to just mask their symptoms or disregard their symptoms because they can't afford rapid antigen test? Absolutely,鈥 she continued. 鈥淚t shouldn't be profit over people. It should be people over profit.鈥
Physician and founder of , an online campaign to find rapid tests for the Canadian public, Dr. Dalia Hasan echoed Umaigba鈥檚 concerns in a telephone interview with CTVNews.ca Tuesday.
鈥淭he cost is financially prohibitive for many Canadians, and it doesn鈥檛 need to be,鈥 Hasan said. 鈥淩ight now it costs less than a dollar for manufacturers to produce rapid tests, so they鈥檙e very cheap to make 鈥 and given how fast they are to get results, they鈥檙e critical for our uptake.鈥
Hasan is calling for Health Canada to approve more companies to manufacture the tests domestically, so that like the U.K and Germany, they can be used as part of Canada鈥檚 national strategy and day-to-day COVID-19 protocols.
鈥淚n the U.K., they鈥檙e able to distribute free rapid tests to every household and Singapore is the same 鈥 you can even get them from vending machines,鈥 Hasan said.
Umaigba agrees.
鈥淭hey'll be able to find out right away if they are positive or not, and then follow the due protocol, which is going for a PCR test and isolating as required,鈥 she said. 鈥淗eading into the holidays, people will gather no matter what鈥ou know a lot of people have been doing their part 鈥 we want the government to do their part too.鈥
Hasan pointed out that the federal government has provided each province with tens of millions of rapid tests, but 鈥渙nly a small fraction have been used.鈥
鈥淚t鈥檚 a missed opportunity to be able to safeguard the public鈥e want the provincial governments to free the RATs that are in the warehouses,鈥 she said. 鈥淭he warehouses don鈥檛 need to be kept safe, the people do.鈥
鈥淲e really, really demand action from the government, proactive measures 鈥 not reactive,鈥 Umaigba said.
Canadians looking to order their own RATs online to their home or pick up tests from pharmacies are facing prices anywhere from $8.75 to $40 per test.
As of Tuesday, a 25-pack of RATs from (currently sold out) was listed at $224.49, down from $374.49, without taxes or shipping costs. A five-pack of tests from the same company was listed at $49.95, down from $74.95.
A 25-pack of Abbott is $218.75 online, and some across Canada are taking appointments for rapid testing on-site, as are .
Canadians going to , including screenings for travel purposes are charged $40.
In Ontario, in the health, policing, community, childcare and social services sector or for industries in the private sector, such as manufacturing, transportation, grocery and restaurants.
Saskatchewan, however, provides free rapid tests for the general public in participating locations throughout the province, on the provincial government website.
New Brunswick and Nova Scotia provide free rapid tests and testing for the general public and regular .
In B.C., qualified businesses can get free tests for their employees through the website, as can industries and organizations with a high risk of transmission, such as long-term care homes or congregate living.
Albertans who are part of any public, private or not-for-profit employer or service provider with an approved COVID-19 screening program can get free rapid tests through the.
According to an email sent out by Blue Cross to pharmacies in the province, and obtained by , free testing kits will be available at participating pharmacies in Edmonton, Calgary and Red Deer, as well as Alberta Health Services facilities in other communities, starting in mid-December.
Although Blue Cross asked pharmacies in its email to sign up to become a distributor starting Dec. 10, with shipments beginning this week, it said pharmacies are not allowed to give out testing kits until the Alberta government announces the program.
Umaigba pointed out that some find it 鈥渋nequitable鈥 that some provinces provide free rapid tests and others do not.
鈥淲here is the balance here? How do you justify that when we are all in the same pandemic?鈥 she said.
In Ontario, people are allegedly using a loophole to order RATs through their businesses in order to test family members before the holidays instead of purchasing them online or making an appointment.
Umaigba called the loophole 鈥渋nfuriating.鈥
鈥淲e鈥檙e all in this together, businesses should step up and donate some and hold the government accountable and tell them 鈥榚ven though I鈥檓 protected, I want my neighbours to be protected too,鈥欌 she said.
Ontario鈥檚 Ministry of Health did not address a question about the loophole in a statement to CTVNews.ca.
A spokesperson said the province has distributed more than 45.8 million rapid tests as of Tuesday, 鈥渟ignificantly more than all other provinces combined,鈥 including 11 million for public school students ahead of the December break.
The spokesperson also said the province is continuing to urge the federal government to increase the number of approved rapid tests available for use in Ontario and across Canada.
鈥淭o continue providing an additional layer of protection against COVID-19 and variants, as part of its enhanced winter testing strategy the province is launching a holiday testing blitz next week to offer voluntary rapid antigen screening to asymptomatic individuals free of charge,鈥 they said.
鈥淭wo million rapid tests will be provided at pop-up testing sites in high-traffic settings such as malls, retail settings, holiday markets and transit hubs.鈥
Hasan said the Ontario loophole 鈥渟peaks to the inequity of the distribution of rapid tests.鈥
鈥淭he fact that we are only protecting businesses is not right,鈥 she said. 鈥淲e are all deserving of preserving our health."
With files from Michael Lee
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