Free Covid tests for all are being scrapped in England from April, and the announcement has led to some people filling their cupboards now.
Amid reports of stockpiling, the government website is limiting orders to one pack per 72 hours, rather than every 24 hours as it was previously.
People ordering tests have been called “shameless stockpilers” by some news outlets, but Michael*, a 56-year-old from Yorkshire, tells HuffPost UK “this isn’t about selfishness, but about helping the poor and vulnerable”.
Michael has started to pre-order tests and thinks he’ll have around 20 boxes by the time the cost is introduced. He plans to give his free boxes away to vulnerable people who can’t afford the fees.
“My hope is that there is a wider movement to make such tests available in the same way as food banks are,” he says. “It’s a terrible indictment of us as a society if we have to do that for anything, but food and health are a basic human right.”
Michael’s concern is that the scrapping of free testing will “hurt the poorest and the most vulnerable,” particularly considering the newly announced test prices.
Boots, the UK’s largest pharmacy chain, has announced that from Thursday (Feb 24), it will sell a pack of four lateral flow tests for £17, or one test for £5.99, with both options including delivery.
From early March, this price will be dropped to £2.50 for a single test or £12 for a pack of five in over 400 Boots stores. The retailer will also offer a bundle of two tests at £4.75 and four tests at £9.50.
In a statement, Boots said it is proud to be offering “affordable lateral flow testing options for those who still want peace of mind from asymptomatic testing”.
But on social media, many have highlighted that this isn’t exactly “affordable”, especially in the context of the current cost of living crisis, which will only worsen come April when energy bills increase.
A limited number of people in England will still be able to access free Covid tests, but we still don’t know exactly which groups will be eligible.
The list, which won’t be announced until March, is expected to include care home residents, hospital patients and some other clinically vulnerable groups if they have Covid symptoms.
Boris Johnson’s official spokesperson revealed that people visiting families and friends in care homes would not be included, sparking outrage from charities.
The uncertainty surrounding who will be able to access tests has led to some on Twitter saying they will stockpile tests now, in oder to protect vulnerable people in their lives.
Some have called for free tests to be available for all those who are considered clinically vulnerable to coronavirus, but journalist Frances Ryan has pointed out that this idea completely misses the point.
“LFTs protect clinically vulnerable people not because they have the tests, but because everyone else does,” she said.
We also know that people who earn more tend to work in industries with scope to work from home, meaning that those on the lowest salaries – and most likely to struggle with the costs of tests – are the people commuting and working in person, with the highest Covid risk.
All this is not necessarily to say you should be stockpiling, but perhaps we should be a little kinder to those who are anxious and have been left with limited options.
One Twitter user, Dr Wendy Dossett said she understands why some people are stockpiling. She’ll pay for tests instead – because she can afford to – but not everyone has that luxury.
HuffPost UK asked the UK Health Security Agency for its response to stockpiling. A spokesperson said: “Lateral flow test availability is refreshed regularly so those who need tests are encouraged to re-visit the site every few hours as more will become available.
“Given that advice to test has and continues to reduce, please only order what you need.”
We also asked what is being done to protect the most vulnerable in society who may not be able to afford Covid testing once fees are introduced.
The spokesperson directed us towards the Cabinet Office’s ‘Living With Covid’ plan, which states that from April 1, there will be “limited symptomatic testing available for a small number of at-risk groups – the government will set out further details on which groups will be eligible.”
*Name changed to offer anonymity.