Local pharmacies have begun the sale of home testing kits for the Covid-19 following a recent government order mandating businesses test their employees for antigens regularly.
Sales of rapid antigen tests have soared since the end of February and have been offered through different vendors like Pilulka, Dr. Max, and Benu Pharmacies.
One of the most popular testing methods is the “Lollipop method” currently offered by Pilulka which involves a mouth swab of sorts and provides results in only 15 minutes.
A spokeswoman for Pilulka.cz says sales of the lollipop tests saw an uptick in February.
“The interest in lollipop tests on the part of customers is huge, since the release of the February press release, in which we were informed about their inclusion in our offer, we sold them out almost immediately – it was a quantity of several thousand pieces,” Kateřina Schotliová, told CTK.
The lollipop tests can be purchased for 190 crowns each and are also sold in bulk with packs of 20 tests available.
Benu pharmacies have recently announced they are selling self-testing kits that give even faster results than the lollipop tests. The Swiss manufacturer Lomina AG offers tests that are accompanied by detailed packaging with photos explaining the simplicity of its test kit and provides results within just five minutes.
Lomina AG tests found at Benu pharmacies involve drawing a blood sample and mixing the sample with a pre-made mixture. The test taker then uses a plastic dropper to drop the blood mixture onto a test strip before awaiting results. One antigen test sells for 250 crowns and also comes in packs of five.
There are evidently more and more options becoming available for customers to purchase across various pharmacies and retailers.
Michal Petrov, a spokesman for Dr. Max pharmacies believes his company offers the best selection of self-administered antigen tests.
“We have the longest quick tests of three manufacturers – JoysBio, SafeCare, NewGene. We have recently added Lepu Medical (swab) and V-Chek (‘sponge’ or ‘lollipops’) and we are also planning to include Korean Humasis. Primarily test sets we offer it on the e-shop, if we succeed in the demand for smaller packages, then also in-store pharmacies,” Petrov said in an interview with CTK.
The Ministry of Health is constantly updating the list of officially acceptable tests for self-use and can be found here.
