58% of pharmacies no longer have self-tests available for sale, according to the spokesperson for the Union of dispensing pharmacists’ unions (USPO) Gilles Bonnefond
The French have been massively tested in recent days, before meeting as a family for the Christmas holidays. Consequence: finding tests in pharmacies is proving very complicated today.
“58% of pharmacies no longer have self-tests available for sale, victims of their success,” said the spokesperson for the Union of pharmacists’ unions (USPO) Gilles Bonnefond, in the Journal of Sunday. “Since December 15, pharmacies have sold as many self-tests as the last five months,” he says. He deplores a situation “under tension” in pharmacies but also among wholesalers who are also encountering supply problems.
Health stakeholders and the government had encouraged the French to get tested before gathering during the end-of-year celebrations. To avoid a tidal wave in laboratories and pharmacies, the self-test was the recommended solution.
Thursday, Michel-Edouard Leclerc, CEO of the Leclerc group, denounced on Franceinfo, the ban for mass distribution to sell self-tests. “We have it in stock but we are not allowed to sell it”, he lamented, pointing to “regulations that date from another era”.