In case there are shortages of Covid rapid flow tests, the government has placed posters in pharmacies encouraging people to try again tomorrow.
According to the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee, (PSNC), the UK Health Security Agency has advised pharmacies to not expect any more lateral flow test deliveries over the weekend.
The UKHSA issued posters to pharmacies advising customers they were out of stock, and that they would ‘try again tomorrow’ in the midst of the shortages.
The UKHSA was unable to deliver any more rapid test kits to Alliance Healthcare distribution centres on Friday morning, with existing stock being used to fulfil pharmacies’ orders.
Although there were assurances that stock levels would increase, pharmacies couldn’t get any lateral flow test deliveries on Friday owing to high demand.
In the midst of shortages in lateral flow testing, the UK Health Security Agency sent pharmacies posters informing customers they were out of stock. They also encouraged them to try again tomorrow.
UKHSA stated Wednesday it had plans It will increase the home delivery capacity for lateral flows, PCR tests and to deliver them at 900,000. This is after a week of unprecedented demand.
Ministers blamed “distribution problems” for the absence of lateral flow testing after the delivery slots on government’s website were exhausted and pharmacies were advised that extra swabs could not be obtained this week.
According to the PSNC (which represents all 11200 pharmacies in England), the UKHSA advised them Wednesday and Thursday orders would be cancelled. Orders placed Friday will be filled as soon as there is more stock.
Parcelforce is available for extra deliveries if necessary.
The UKHSA’s agreement with Alliance Healthcare, which distributes healthcare products to more than 110,000 pharmacies and hospitals, sets out delivery within three working days.
According to Alastair Buxton of PSNC, the Director for NHS Services at PSNC, “It’s regrettable that, despite assurances earlier in week, UKHSA has now informed us that many pharmacies won’t receive any further LFTs today and perhaps on Saturday.
“Pharmacies still experience a high demand for testing, which is increasing the pressure that they already face at this time of year.”
“Pharmacy departments are working hard to provide the best possible patient care, including healthcare advice and medication. Some pharmacists also offer COVID boosters.
The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee stated that the UKHSA advised pharmacies to not expect LFD deliveries over the weekend. Image: Boots, Epsom, Surrey
Even though stock was promised to be increased earlier in the week, many pharmacies could not get any lateral flow test supplies on Friday. Stock image
UKHSA spokesperson stated that “Due to a supply-chain issue, there has been an unavoidable delay in certain pharmacies receiving their quick test orders. Normal service will soon resume as this issue is resolved.
“This week saw record-breaking numbers of quick tests being distributed throughout the country. Over 11 million kits were sent to UK pharmacies.
“There are many free quick tests available and people have many options to get them in order to combat COVID-19.
This comes just days after Royal Mail and public health officials announced plans to increase lateral flow and PCR testing deliveries to combat the Covid supply crisis.
Within hours of Grant Shapps’s statement that ‘distribution problems’ were to blame for millions of Britons not being able to order testing kits, UKHSA announced that it had reached an agreement with the postal services to speed up delivery.
On Wednesday, the agency stated that its plans were to expand home delivery of lateralflows and PCR tests up to 900,000. This is in response to what it called a “week of unprecedented demand”.
According to the report, pharmacies will be able access to 10.5million lateral flow test per week. This is an increase of 5.55million tests each week. Meanwhile, booking slots at PCR testing sites could increase up to 100,000 per hour.
Boris Johnson had to close his test system this week. No NHS PCR tests are available. Online lateral flow tests have been out of stock for the past two days.
Plan B by the Government relies upon regular and rapid testing in order to avoid compulsory quarantine.
Sajid Javid (Health and Social Care Secretary) said he was delighted with plans for upscale Covid-test deliveries.
He explained that Omicron’s Omicron-based variant is the most extensive European testing program.
“I am delighted Royal Mail has expanded its distribution service, which means that over 900,000. PCR and LFD testing kits will be available for delivery to every home in the country each day.
“It is vital that we all contribute to the national effort against Omicron. We should get tested for symptoms if possible and use LFDs every day if we are close contacts of cases.
Grant Shapps blamed “distribution problems” for the absence of lateral flow testing after the delivery slots on Government’s website ran out. After that, pharmacies were informed they could not have additional swabs.
According to Mr Shapps, there is enough lateral flow testing to get around, despite yesterday’s announcement on the Government’s website that there weren’t any tests for home delivery.
However, he stated that getting tests to patients was the main issue. Shapps stated that health officials were working closely with Amazon, Royal Mail and other delivery companies to deliver the tests to pharmacies and homes.
As he squirmed as he responded to a Sky New question, Kay Burley asked him: “Just on lateral flows tests. Which actually, uniquely, in that as far I can see there haven’t been any other countries providing these free-of-charge to their citizens. Major economies haven’t generally been doing it. And we have in the country, you’re right. It can be difficult to get them at different times of the day, especially since the new measures, called the booster program, asking for people to be tested.
Mr Shapps continued by saying: “I actually noticed yesterday that at some times of the day they were available, and are now coming in.
“There is plenty of supply, but we have issues with the distribution route.
Grant Shapps blamed “distribution problems” for the absence of lateral flow testing after the delivery slots on Government’s website ran out. After that, pharmacies were informed they could not have additional swabs.
“I know that my colleagues in the health sector are working closely with Amazon and Royal Mail to make sure distribution is still available to pharmacies.
Meanwhile, Professor Lockdown has said the 10-day quarantine should be cut to seven days if people are made to test negative before they are released.
Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, Neil Ferguson said: ‘It’s always a trade off between effectiveness and people’s adherence.
It could also be used in conjunction with lateral flow tests, which would test negative for releases. This was done some months back.
“All analysis and modelling would indicate that if the model is combined with lateral flow testing, it won’t reduce effectiveness.
“If the change is between 10 days and 7 days, with no testing, you will have a bigger effect on the effectiveness of your measures.”
Professor Ferguson’s comment come as health experts and business chiefs warned the ten-day rule was ‘lockdown by stealth’ – keeping people at home even when their symptoms and infectiousness had eased.
Experts suggested early termination of quarantine for people who are negative for more than two consecutive days.
Daily virus cases hit a record 93,000 on Thursday and are expected to go much higher – raising fears that self-isolation will cause chaos to schools, hospitals and the economy.
It is not yet known whether Omicron – the Covid variant driving the surge – is milder. However, victims recover faster and may become less infectious just three to five days after a positive test, according to evidence from South Africa.
Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at University of East Anglia, stated that people are most contagious in the first five day. After this, infectiousness drops.
“Some people can’t be infected for three days. It doesn’t make sense to keep them inside.
Isolating people in isolation for ten days if they’re not infectious can harm the economy. It will also leave essential public services like the NHS unstaffed.
Boris Johnson today was urged to abandon the 10-day quarantine period for all positive cases and to adopt a release and test program that would stop Omicron from “disabling everyone”.
The data suggests that approximately 98% of viruses are transmitted before the person becomes ill or within 5 days.
“People might be allowed to leave quarantine after a daily lateral flow testing if they are negative for at least two consecutive days.”
Dr Bharat Pantkhania, an academic at the University of Exeter medical college, said that ‘Safely reducing a quarantine period of ten days could increase compliance and improve staffing in healthcare. This would also benefit the economy.
“Confirmed patients may be permitted to take a daily flow test, which will result in three positives per day. They can also leave the country after receiving one PCR within five days.
Self-isolation – from the point of infection or a positive test – was initially one week until it was extended to ten days in July 2020.
On any given day, around 12,000 NHS staff were sick or wasolating due to Covid. More than 20 primary school pupils tested positive.
Doctors and nurses had to avoid wards for 10 days for anyone who was infected by the virus.
The rules were different from those issued in August for the rest the nation. This meant double-jabbed persons did not have the need to self-quarantine when someone in their home contracted the disease. Officials wanted hospital patients to be protected.
Yesterday’s updated guidance to NHS leaders saw the household rule being quietly scrapped. As long as workers have received two vaccines, they should be able to return home as soon as their PCR tests are negative. The workers should then perform daily lateral flow checks before they return for work.
It comes amid fears the NHS will be crippled by the incoming Omicron wave, with Government advisers warning of upwards of 4,000 daily hospitalisations — mirroring levels seen virus earlier this year when the health service was ravaged by Britain’s second wave.
This is the proof that lateral flows are just as effective at catching Omicron. Chiefs of health hail “very encouraging” data that they believe will dispel fears about super-variants being missed by the quick swabs.
Emily Craig, Health Reporter for MailOnline
Lateral flow tests used in the UK identify Omicron with just as much accuracy as previous strains, UK Government scientists insisted today.
Experts stated that they were hopeful the research will alleviate concerns over the possibility of the devices being less sensitive to the mutant strain.
Numerous Britons complained that they were negative for lateral flow tests in the wake of cases rising. However, a PCR later confirmed their suspicions.
UK Health Security Agency used the five lateral testing brands that were provided by the NHS from samples of Omicron infected patients.
The five brands of lateral flow testing were used by scientists at the UK Health Security Agency. They tested five samples taken from Omicron-infected patients. Each patient received a positive test, regardless of whether the sample had been diluted. The tests proved that the devices are sensitive to previous strains of Covid.
All of the tests showed a positive result for each patient, even when their sample was diluted, showing the devices have ‘a comparable sensitivity to that observed for previous strains’ of Covid, the UKHSA said.
It is however monitoring the performance of the test in real life to make sure their sensitivity does not decrease when people do the swab.
Tests that detect the nucleocapsid protein of the virus infected a person can determine if they are infected within 15 minutes. However, this particular part of Omicron’s cells has four mutations which raises concerns about the effectiveness of the test.
However, Dr Jenny Harries (head of UKHSA) said that the results from the lab were’very encouraging’. She urged people not to mix with other people in order to reduce the spread of the disease.
These free screenings are an integral part of No10’s Plan B strategy. Vaccinated close contacts with positive cases were told to take them every day for one week, instead of just isolating. To be allowed into football stadiums, people who have not been vaccinated must provide proof that they had a negative test.
Around 1.4million people across the UK were tested for the virus — using either PCR or lateral flow devices — every day in the last week (shown in graph). Ministers stressed this month the importance of lateral flow tests in the fight against Omicron. However, doctors warn that the symptoms may be similar to those experienced by the common cold.
In an effort to stop Omicron spreading, officials have also encouraged the public to use their kits prior to meeting with loved ones during the Christmas season.
Experts warn that the tests are ineffective and should not be used as a way to determine if someone is suffering from the virus.
People with Covid symptoms — such as a high temperature, a new continuous cough or a loss or change of smell or taste — are told to get a more sensitive PCR test, which is sent to a laboratory to be processed.
A third of the people with this virus have no symptoms. Therefore, rapid lateral flow tests can be used to identify symptomatic infection.
Around 1.4million Brits were tested for the virus — using either PCR or lateral flow devices — every day in the last week.
Ministers stated this month that Omicron spread can be controlled by lateral flow testing. Doctors warn its symptoms are similar to the common cold.
However, Dr Susan Hopkins (UKHSA chief medical advisor) stated that the tests were only half the quality of PCRs. She said that they can detect about 80 percent of most transmittable cases.
In a report today, the UKHSA looked at five types of lateral flow tests used in the UK — Acon Flow Flex, Innova Biotime, Orient Gene and two versions by SureScreen.
The positive Omicron results showed that all three dilutions were appropriate for three levels of infection.
Omicron had four mutations in the virus that was used for testing to confirm infection. However, all positive samples were identified using the tests.
Comparatively, 15 people with the original strain were tested and all the results came back positive. The Innova Biotime test only found 14 of these infected specimens.
UKHSA reported that tests worked in the laboratory. They will monitor the real-world performance of the tests and test more samples from Omicron infections to confirm their effectiveness.
HSA chief executive Dr Harries said that LFD testing is equally capable of detecting Covid in Omicron-exposed individuals as they are in previous versions. This is encouraging.
“As we work together to reduce the transmission of the variant during the Christmas season, we urge people to have regular testing, especially before they attend social events.
The booster vaccine is the best way to protect yourself against infections. We ask that you come forward as quickly as possible to get your booster.
Britons took to social media in protest of inconsistent results during lateral flow testing and to question their reliability.
Chris Stables of Twitter stated that his lateral flow tests showed he was positive for three days, after having tested positive at PCR.
‘[The virus is]Spreading false positive lateral tests that people believe there are negative,’ he stated.
Ruske, British DJ, posted that he’d taken three lateral flow test, with two being negative and one being positive.
Helen Salisbury, a general practitioner warned Omicron was’spreading like wildfire and may infect people even when negative lateral flow testing are performed’.
Olympia Campbell claimed that 10 tests she took in the past four days were negative and that a subsequent PCR showed she was positive.
Ryan Williams posted on social media, that he was positive on a test for PCR and negative on three flow tests. This warning is not surprising as he said, “they’ren’t the most effective at catching.” [the virus] early’.
And one A&E doctor in London claimed he tested negative after using a lateral flow test that told him to only swab his nose. However, when he tried the same test for a throat sample, it was positive.