Hong Kong News

Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Friday, Mar 29, 2024

How much does a Covid test cost around the world?

How much does a Covid test cost around the world?

As the Treasury pushes for free tests to be scrapped in the UK, here’s how charges look in other countries
In Australia, a federal scheme introduced at the end of January allows pensioners and concession card holders to access up to 10 free rapid antigen tests over three months through their chemist. But the scheme got off to a difficult start, with supply issues hampering attempts to procure the tests. In January the competition regulator raised concerns that rapid antigen tests often cost between A$20 and A$30 (£15-£20) per test and sometimes more than A$70 a test through smaller retail outlets, despite wholesale costs ranging from A$3.95 to A$11.45.

In Belgium the price of an antigen self-test sold in pharmacies is around €6-€8 (£5-£7), more expensive than in neighbouring countries, such as France and the Netherlands, although they are available in Belgian supermarkets for about €3. Prices have come down and are expected to fall further: one big pharmacy chain announced this week they had begun selling tests for €1.99. While a PCR test, which costs about €41, is free for people with symptoms, or may be reimbursed by health insurance, self-tests usually have to be funded by individuals. The Belgian consumer association Test-Achats/Test Aankoop estimated this week that a family of four could spend €250 a month on Covid tests, hand sanitiser and face masks.

Self-administered tests in France cost between €4 and €5 in pharmacies and about €1.25 in supermarket multipacks. Lateral flow tests and PCR tests administered in pharmacies, laboratories and testing centres (both of which give you a result with a QR code allowing you to travel, for example) are free for all who are registered with the French healthcare system and fully vaccinated. People who are not in the system (tourists, for example) and those who are not fully vaccinated pay about €25 for a lateral flow and up to €45 for a PCR.

Germany abolished its system of free rapid coronavirus testing – used by Germans to get into venues such as theatres and football stadiums – in October. Unvaccinated people – except for pregnant women, children, or those advised against getting a vaccine on medical grounds – had to pay for the tests. The hope was that people would no longer rely on the test system as a way of avoiding getting a vaccine. However, a month later, free tests were reintroduced as authorities struggled to curb rapidly rising infection rates.

In South Africa rapid antigen tests sell for 380 ZAR (£18.50), and PCR tests double that.

Testing regimes vary across Spain’s 17 self-governing regions. In the Madrid region, the government has so far distributed 5m free antigen tests that can be picked up from pharmacies in and around the capital. In mid-January, the Spanish government capped the price of antigen tests on sale in pharmacies at €2.94. Before the cap was introduced, test kits had been selling for about €10 and were not always available.

In Thailand, antigen test kits are sold online, in convenience stores and pharmacies, with prices starting at about 50 baht (£1.13). The government has also started selling antigen tests for 35 baht (79p) at eight locations in Bangkok and online. If you want to travel to a tourist destination, you may be required to take a test before entering, and this can be more expensive. The cost of PCR tests ranges from 1,300 baht in some areas to as much as 4,500 baht.

In the US, the cost and access to rapid antigen and PCR testing varies considerably depending on where you live and what health insurance you have, if any. A rapid antigen test can cost about $15 (£11) in a pharmacy or supermarket, but since January there has been a large increase in free testing sites across the country, as well as millions of test kits for schools. PCR tests are available at private clinics, costing $100 or more, but you can also get them free from some hospitals and clinics, though access is very variable. Since 15 January, private health insurance companies have been required to cover the costs of up to eight rapid home tests. For the 28 million or so without health insurance, the Biden administration said it would buy a billion free tests, which people could request online or at local health clinics and pharmacies, though it’s unclear how many have been secured and distributed so far.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Hong Kong News
0:00
0:00
Close
It's always the people with the dirty hands pointing their fingers
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
'I am not your servant': IndiGo crew member, passenger get into row over airline meal
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
BMW driver…
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
×