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UK Covid check distributor shut for Christmas after receiving 2.5m kits

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The only real distributor of Covid lateral movement exams (LFTs) to pharmacies closed for 4 days over the Christmas interval simply because it obtained a supply of two.5m units, it has emerged.

Alliance Healthcare took supply of the exams on Christmas Eve after which shut, the Times reported. It supplies LFTs to pharmacies to offer out to the general public.

An update from the Pharmaceutical Providers Negotiating Committee, which represents NHS pharmacy contractors, confirmed 2.5m exams had been delivered to Alliance Healthcare on 24 December and added: “That inventory was able to be delivered [on] 29 December when Alliance Healthcare reopened after its deliberate Christmas break, and it represents circa 357,000 particular person packs of seven exams and simply over 6,000 cartons.”

Every pharmacy is ready to place a day by day order for a single carton, containing about 55 packs, every with seven exams, however the surge in Omicron variant circumstances, steerage to extend the quantity of testing and a change to the isolation guidelines have led to a rise in demand.

Persons are in a position to go away Covid isolation early after testing unfavorable, and college pupils are being inspired to check at the least twice weekly once they return to school rooms this week.

This has led many pharmacies to expire inside hours of supply, and there have been reviews of patchy provides earlier than Christmas.

Alliance Healthcare mentioned final week there might be “some service disruption across the Alliance Healthcare network” because of Covid-related absence.

The corporate has been approached by the Guardian however a UK spokesperson instructed the Instances it had closed on 25 December till 28 December, and distribution had resumed on 29 December “when the vast majority of neighborhood pharmacies reopened”.

He mentioned: “Because the begin of the pharmacy acquire scheme, Alliance Healthcare UK has distributed over 280m lateral movement exams to neighborhood pharmacies throughout the UK. We distributed greater than 2m lateral movement exams on Christmas Eve to help a variety of neighborhood pharmacies that remained open over Christmas financial institution vacation and the place inventory was obtainable.

“We proceed to distribute round 2m lateral movement exams day by day from inventory made obtainable to us from UKHSA.”

A UK Well being Safety Company (UKHSA) spokesperson mentioned: “The UK’s testing programme is the largest in Europe, with virtually 400m exams carried out because the begin of the pandemic. We’re delivering report numbers of lateral movement exams to pharmacies throughout the nation, with over 8m check kits being made obtainable to pharmacies between 29 December and New 12 months’s Eve.

“We have now made 100,000 extra PCR [polymerase chain reaction test] reserving slots obtainable per day since mid-December and we’re persevering with to quickly increase capability – with over half 1,000,000 exams carried out on 23 December alone and supply capability doubled to 900,000 PCR and LFD [lateral flow device] check kits a day. In case you have not been in a position to get the check you want from gov.uk, please maintain checking each few hours as extra PCR and LFD exams change into obtainable day by day.”

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