Boots to offer 12-minute Covid nasal swab test

A Covid test that can provide a result in 12 minutes will be made available at high street pharmacy Boots.

The nasal swab test, which will cost £120, will be available in more than 50 stores across the UK to anyone who is not showing symptoms.

The test, and the device needed to process it, have been approved by authorities in Europe and the US.

In trials on more than 500 patients it accurately detected the virus in more than 97% of cases.

The technology has been developed by UK-based life sciences company LumiraDx, which has also struck a deal to provide supplies to the NHS in Scotland.

The test, which detects the presence of a Covid-19 antigen protein, is said to be considerably faster than other rapid tests currently being trialled, which produce results in an average time of 90 minutes.

The service is available as a private pre-flight testing service for customers who require a test before travelling abroad. It is also available for people seeking peace of mind before seeing friends and family.

Depending on demand and feedback, the launch may extend to 200 stores over the coming months.

The equipment connects to a cloud system, which could potentially allow for speedy tracking of disease outbreaks by health authorities.

Speedy and comprehensive testing is thought vital to efforts to contain the second wave of the virus while the world waits for an effective vaccine.

But figures released last week showed that just 15.1% of people are currently receiving results within 24 hours through the official system in place in the UK.

Sir Patrick Vallance, the government’s chief scientific adviser admitted there was “room for improvement” in the NHS Test and Trace system.

Boris Johnson previously pledged that all tests would be processed within 24 hours – unless there were issues with postal tests – by the end of June.

Research suggests that on average people develop symptoms of Covid 5.1 days after they were infected. While a small proportion develop symptoms within three days, others may take nearly two weeks to become ill.