Free RAT program for concession card holders to start amid nationwide supply shortages

The message from the Pharmacy Guild's local branch president came amid warnings that a few packs of free tests wouldn't be enough for some elderly Canberrans to feel confident reconnecting with family and the community.

About 80,000 Canberrans on various Commonwealth concession cards are now eligible for their first allocation of the in-demand rapid COVID-19 testing kits.

Card holders can claim up to 10 free kits over the next three months from participating pharmacies, including a maximum of five per month.

The national cabinet earlier this month agreed to fund the scheme, as Prime Minister Scott Morrison resisted pressure to make home testing kits universally free.

The biggest problem has been supply. Shortages have been reported across the country as governments, the private sector and the general public scramble to secure home kits, which are being used alongside PCR tests to detect cases.

With supply problems persisting, Pharmacy Guild of Australia ACT branch president Simon Blacker said Commonwealth concession card holders should not be expecting to find tests when the scheme starts on Monday.

Mr Blacker said it would be "lucky" if 10 of Canberra's more than 80 pharmacies had stock available. He pointed out that stores would need to cater for general customers as well as concession card holders.

"I think the Canberra community should expect that there'll be a very slow start to this rollout," he said.

"There's probably no point for someone who's eligible charging into their local pharmacy, or ringing at 9 o'clock to see if they have tests, because the likelihood is that they won't."

Such is the extraordinary demand for rapid tests in Canberra, Mr Blacker said he was aware of stores which had sold between 1000 and 2000 kits on a single day.

Mr Blacker was confident supply shortages would ease in the coming weeks, echoing the optimism of federal authorities.

"If they [card holders] have trouble locating them in February, I have no doubt they'll be able to find them in March and April if it comes to that," he said.

The Pharmacy Guild's "Find a Pharmacy" website will be updated to include details on which stores are participating in the scheme, and if they had testing kits available.

Canberrans with a Commonwealth pensioner concession card, seniors health card, health care card, low income health card, or a Department of Veteran's Affairs gold, white or orange card are eligible for the free tests from Monday.

A federal Health Department spokesman said that as the program was running for three months, and more stock was due to arrive in Australia over the coming weeks, there was no "rush" to collect a free test on Monday.

The spokesman said the supplies, which include the more than 70 million tests purchased by the federal government and 130 million bought by the states and territories, were expected to be delivered throughout January and February.

The cost of the scheme will be split 50:50 between the Commonwealth and the states and territories.

Council on the Ageing ACT chief executive Jenny Mobbs said while the provision of free tests was "better than nothing", it wouldn't be life-changing for the elderly Canberrans who were afraid to leave their homes as Omicron sweeps through the community.

"For something significant like an 80^th birthday, [a test] would be reassuring. But you can't use rapid antigen tests every day, it would be unaffordable," she said.

"It's a really tricky situation, and perhaps false hope for older people. It is better than nothing, but I think people are still reluctant to go out and socialise as they did in the past."

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ACT Council of Social Service chief executive Emma Campbell said rapid testing kits should be free for anyone who needs them.

Dr Campbell said forcing vulnerable people to pay for kits undermined the principles at the heart of Australia's universal healthcare system.

"It is of great concern to me that something that is a basic requirement of protecting our health, a basic public health measure, is not being seen as a right," she said.

Labor has been calling on the federal government to make rapid antigen tests free through Medicare.

Health Minister Greg Hunt has described Labor's proposal as a "very dangerous and irresponsible policy", suggesting it would cause supplies to be diverted from people who needed them most.

Labor's health spokesman, Mark Butler, said the federal government's failure to secure more supplies meant pensioners and pharmacies had been left "high and dry".

"Scott Morrison promised 6 million Australian pensioners and concession card holders that from Monday, they would receive free tests from the government. But it's just one more promise that he won't deliver because pharmacists simply don't have the tests," Mr Butler said.

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