Thirty-four community groups and health care providers in Newfoundland and Labrador say provincial options for rapid COVID-19 antigen testing are neither equitable nor sustainable.
On Monday, the St. John’s Council on the Status of Women released an open letter on behalf of groups calling on the provincial government to increase access to rapid testing. The letter, addressed to Prime Minister Andrew Furey and Health Minister John Haggie, calls on the government to distribute tests through community organizations, regional health authorities and elsewhere.
Bridget Clarke, the council’s advocacy coordinator, said Monday that without access to rapid testing, some vulnerable people on low or fixed incomes are forced to make dire decisions.
“Especially with the rising cost of living, people are making choices between transportation, food, rent, heating and buying rapid tests,” Clarke said. “We believe it is the government’s responsibility to make rapid tests free, accessible and in sustainable supply to the people who need them most.”
Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island are the only provinces in Canada that do not widely distribute free rapid COVID-19 tests. In some provinces, including Nova Scotia, rapid tests are widely available in places like public libraries.
In Newfoundland and Labrador, the price of a rapid test fluctuates, but CBC News found them for sale in the St. John area for $12.50 per test through Avalon Laboratories and $14.99 per test at Marie’s Mini Mart. A pack of five tests is $59.99 at Eastern Safety Services in Conception Bay South.
“We know that people who are sick, like many of us, or who might be exposed, require multiple tests. And those costs really add up,” Clarke said.
1.4 million tests in storage and more on the way: Department of Health
The Canadian Red Cross provides rapid tests to some community organizations, including the women’s council, but Clarke said deliveries are sporadic and the program ends at the end of April.
CBC News asked the Department of Health for a response to the letter, but a spokesman noted that Monday is a provincial government holiday.
Chief Medical Officer for Health Dr Janice Fitzgerald said in March that the government was trying to be strategic about using rapid tests.
The federal government has distributed 140 million rapid tests to the provinces. In a statement last week, the provincial government said it has distributed 4,957,870 rapid antigen self-tests so far, with around 1.4 million remaining in stock. The Health Department said the federal government has indicated it will continue to supply the tests to the province.
Newfoundland and Labrador has distributed free tests in schools, a distribution strategy that Clarke says could be replicated for regional health authorities. In rural areas, tests could be distributed through libraries, supermarkets and mobile units, Clarke said.
Impact on wages, access to support
While PCR tests are still available in some situations, most people who have symptoms but are not at risk of serious illness are not eligible and should instead take a rapid test or isolate for up to 24 hours. hours after symptoms have improved.
Clarke said the women’s council has listened to people who had symptoms but couldn’t access rapid tests, so they were forced to self-isolate longer than necessary.
“This can have impacts on lost wages, loss of access to really critical supports and resources like education, like childcare,” she said.
Mark Nichols, a community organizer with Workers’ Action Network NL, one of the organizations that signed the letter, said many low- and minimum-wage workers can’t afford to buy rapid tests, but they also can’t afford to self-test. -isolate, especially since Newfoundland and Labrador do not have government-mandated paid sick days.
“You are already thinking about going without income if you are sick with COVID,” he said. “It’s a double whammy to turn around and… you have to buy these expensive tests to confirm that you have COVID.”
Nichols pointed out that a package of two rapid tests (about $25 plus tax) is more than two hours’ wages for minimum wage workers.
Reference-www.cbc.ca