The saturation of health centers and the high rate of contagion by omicron, with an incidence accumulated at 14 days never seen (2433.94 per 100,000 inhabitants, according to data on Tuesday), is rethinking the protocols of some autonomous communities.
So, today, Catalonia, Galicia, Navarra, Basque Country and Aragoncontabilize for months in their daily statistics, positive cases notified by pharmacies, as well as Murcia, Cantabria and La Rioja, but the first five without confirmation
Via PCR, due to recent modifications.
Some, like Galicia, asked until a week ago a confirmation by PCR, as well as Basque Country, a requirement that is no longer necessary in any, just as they do not confirm it in Navarra from the December Bridge, when the incidence began to raise up
.

In other communities, such as La Rioja, pharmacies notify positives from those who are held by the self-diagnostic test at home, but school sources are unaware if they are confirmed with PCR or how they are accounted for.
Other autonomies, as a Valencian Community, are in talks with the official colleges of pharmacists to enable a case-notification system from the Botics.

Of course, the pharmacies of Catalonia are the only ones that, as a result of the agreement signed yesterday between the Health Department of the Generalitat and the Council of Pharmaceutical Schools of Catalonia, notify not only the tests of antigens that have been supervising since July in
Pharmacies, but now also the positive results obtained through the rapid antigens test carried out at home.

This is not, however, in the other communities, where it is a requirement that the test be carried out in the pharmacy under the supervision of a pharmacist. Moreover, in Aragón, the pharmacist employs professional tests to issue European Covid certificates for asymptomatic persons and without contact with positives (not Autotest performed by the patient or supervised by the pharmacist), being the only community where the apotals perform these certificates to travel . And it is only in these cases, if they register positive, when they notify it to the Department of Health of Aragon through a platform and is incorporated into the patient’s clinical history. “Until recently they were considered suspects of positive and healing, it had to confirm it, but no longer,” he explains to this medium María José Villafranca, president of the Official College of Pharmaceuticals of Teruel. Today, 3,542 European Covid Certificates of Negative Diagnostic Test have issued and, from December 27 to January 2, the 355 Aragon pharmacies have communicated 954 positive.

In parallel, Aragon has enabled a telephone to be the same user of the self-diagnostic test that notifies its positive and can be managed, as well as also happens in Catalonia, Basque Country, Madrid – where pharmacies do not communicate positive-
And almost all the autonomous communities.

These modifications of the autonomous protocols respond to the indications of the last document approved by the Public Health Commission on December 30, adaptation of the ECOC, surveillance and control strategy of COVID-19 in period of high community transmission.
The text points out that “in this situation of such high circulation of the virus it is necessary to review the handling of cases” and, therefore, establishes that “the results of the Autotest, in situations in which Autonomous Communities can not guarantee the confirmation in
Time by diagnostic test of active infection (PDIA), and which, therefore, are handled as COVID cases will be considered confirmed, will be integrated into the surveillance system and in the habitual notification through SIVIES to the Ministry of Health as
Established in Article 25 on Diagnostic Testing Data Communication of Law 2/2021, of March 29 “.

The document adds that in that article it is indicated that “counseling with healthcare powers of the Autonomous Communities will collect the data of the COVID-19 diagnostic tests indicated in its territorial scope, which allow epidemiological follow-up, and will refer them to the ministry.
of health through the information system that this establishes to the effect “.

At a more technical level, Alba Southello, president of the Official College of Pontevedra Pharmaceuticals, explains that the Health Ministry of Galicia reported on December 30 changes in the Rexel System for the Registration of the Autotest Result.
Antigens performed by pharmacies.
Said statement reported that “with this change it is intended that, in case the result of the Autotest is positive, a positive case confirmed in Vixia is directly generated. From now on the AutoTest option of antigens will no longer be operational,
and the pharmacy must record the result (positive or negative) and dates (date and time of the test and diagnostic date) in the Antigen Test option (the Blue) boxes will appear, where the pharmacist must also indicate the manufacturer
of the Autotest.

In Galicia, on Monday the pharmacies carried out 535 test, of which 63 were positive.
Despite the current high incidence, Soutelo adds that in July and August the Galician pharmacies came to perform up to 2,000 test in a day.

Meanwhile, the sale of self-diagnostic antigens test in pharmacies continues to rise.
According to published data on Tuesday by the IQVIA consultant on the week from December 20 to 26, the demand grew by 69% compared to the previous week, reaching a record during parties.

Catalonia remains the autonomous community with the highest selling, concentrating 21.1% of sales in Spain, followed by Madrid, with 17.94%, and Andalusia, with 15.49%.