Boots to charge £5.99 for one lateral flow test as UK ends free packs
Boots is to offer individual lateral flow tests for as much as £5.99, including delivery, from Wednesday as retailers gear up for the end of widely available free tests.
The UK’s biggest pharmacy business said customers would be able to order one test online from Wednesday or pay £17 for a pack of four, including delivery within two days. These tests will include the option to send results to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) but they cannot be used for travel requiring a negative antigen test certificate.
From early March, Boots said it would be possible to pick up lateral flow tests in more than 400 of its stores for £2.50 for one or £12 for a pack of five. These cheaper tests will also be available online with four tests priced at £9.50.
Dan Shears, national health and safety director at the GMB union said: “This is rampant profiteering at the expense of working people. Almost £6 per test is a huge sacrifice for the lowest paid workers, and if they wish to test family members as well, then the cost will soon become prohibitive.
“The government should provide tests for free – they are a clear public health benefit that far outweighs cost. But if we have to pay, test provision should be subsidised to make tests affordable.
“The reality is that those who are most at risk are least able to afford testing, meaning it will not happen and low-paid workers – many of whom are key workers — will continue to take the brunt of Covid.”
Frances O’Grady, general secretary of the TUC union body, agreed that free tests must remain in place. She said: “Introducing charges for Covid tests in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis is both heartless and reckless. This decision will hit low-income and frontline workers the hardest – at a time
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