World News – GB – Boots to offer 12-minute Covid testing service within weeks

Boots to offer a coronavirus testing service which he says can return swab test results in just 12 minutes

The drugstore chain said the LumiraDx devices, which can quickly process swab tests to give customers same-day results, will be rolled out to select stores in the coming weeks.

The price will be £ 120, which Boots says would make it one of the cheapest private Covid-19 tests available on the market A spokesperson for the retailer said the price could drop depending on the request

The rapid test will not be allowed as a pre-flight test for customers who require it prior to travel as the results will be processed through an in-store machine rather than a registered lab

However, a separate 48-hour test service launched by Boots will be eligible as a pre-flight service.It is already available in 10 stores in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh and Glasgow, with plans to expand the program at over 50 outlets across the UK It also costs £ 120

However, Julian Peto, professor of epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said the price associated with the new Boots rapid tests was « exorbitant »

He told the Guardian: “The Abbott rapid antigen test, which appears to be similar to the LumiraDx test offered by Boots, was bought in bulk by the US government for $ 5 [£ 384] per test… Five dollars was the cost of the test consumables and does not include the cost of the machine and operator time, but £ 120 per test seems outrageous « 

Boots declined to comment on the wholesale price of the test and machines purchased from UK company LumiraDx

Customers who do not have symptoms of Covid-19 will be able to book an in-store test through the company’s website, Bootscom People with symptoms or who suspect they have the virus are asked not to come in store and stay home and follow government guidelines on seclusion

Seb James, managing director of Boots in the UK, said the program was being implemented to help ease pressure on the country’s healthcare services

“Boots has supported the government’s Covid-19 testing program from the very beginning and offering this new in-store service is the next step in our efforts to fight the pandemic,” he said

« We hope that by offering this testing option at local community stores, Boots can help ease the pressure on the NHS and the government by providing additional access to crucial testing and insurance for people across the country. UK »

The launch of Boots tests comes almost a week after the UK’s first pre-departure test center opened at Heathrow last Tuesday

Passengers traveling from London Heathrow to Hong Kong can take a Covid-19 rapid test at the airport before check-in, terminals 2 and 5 The tests, which must be booked, cost £ 80 and results are available within the hour

The so-called Lamp – or loop-mediated isothermal amplification – test used at Heathrow uses a throat and nose swab, but also differs from the longer PCR test, used by the NHS, as it is processed without being sent to a laboratory

Boots Covid Test