THE EXPERIENCE OF COMMUNITY PHARMACY IN SARS-COV-2 ANTIGEN DETECTION TESTS PROGRAMS

Abstract

BACKGROUND // SARS-CoV-2 infection was an unprecedented pandemic with unprecedented global health and socio-economic impact. More than 13 million cases had been confirmed in Spain by August 2022, and diagnostic testing to detect cases of infection in the country has helped to partially mitigate the spread of the virus. In 2021, the first self-testing antigen tests were marketed for dispensing in community pharmacies, and over-the-counter dispensing was allowed from July of that year. The network of community pharmacies played a key role, not only in the informed dispensing of these tests, but also in actively participating in the performance, supervision and reporting of results to the health authorities, and even in the issuing of digital certificates.

A compilation has been made of all the available data on the subject, with a deadline of 13 February 2022, which is considered to be the end of the sixth wave of the epidemic in Spain. The results of the action taken by community pharmacies in twelve Autonomous Communities, which somehow participated in these initiatives by carrying out or supervising a total of 1,043,800 tests, from which 109,570 positive cases (10.5% of the total) were detected and reported to the National Health System, are presented in this article. Although the results are provisional, because many of the programmes are still ongoing, they are a clear demonstration of the potential that community pharmacies can play in Public Health work.