Fingers crossed that comes true. If so I would continue to use them before meeting up somewhere confined or if I had symptoms.
Prices at the bottom of the article, although not all confirmed.
Itās such a shame weāve stopped any/all support now. No enhanced sick pay, no free tests, and no mask requirements at all. So if someone with covid has to go to work (itās hardly cheap to live right now) then they risk everyone they meet. 
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Iām quite surprised itās that low - unless you work with vulnerable people or are travelling abroad thereās little reason to test unless you have symptoms. Iād expect a decent chunk of the population have never had a reason to.
ā¦Christmas? Families mingling? For your job (hospitality, close promxity roles, schools)? Going out to a social event?
What youāve said is that you donāt see a point in testing unles you know youāre coming into contact with a vulnerable person. Which quite often, you wonāt. How do you know the birthday dinner youāre attending, doesnāt have a guest whoās vulnerable? What about your colleague(s)?
We canāt just keep expecting vulnerable people to lock themselves away from society often due to circumstances outside of their control. Performing a test is hardly an inconvenience for anyone, when theyāre free.
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I know of someone who is having to go into work this weekend, before the end of their isolation, because theyāve been put in a position where if they donāt, either the business closes or another member of staff cancels their holiday.
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The advice for months is for āvulnerableā people to behave normally and not take any special precautionsā¦ nobody is locking themselves away any more. Iām on the listā¦ I get the government emails about thisā¦ and that advice is you should take a test if you have symptoms.
Your employer can of course impose rules over and above this which is why I said people who work with vulnerable people, as they often have to. I didnāt say anything about random encountersā¦ theyāre inevitable anyway.
(An interesting tidbit from the latest missive is that the tests sold in shops are not āofficialā - āTests bought from a shop cannot currently be registered via GOV.āUK or 119 and you will not be contacted about treatment if you test positive using these tests.ā).
Thatās the generic advice but my GP and consultants have said I should still be shielding as much as possible, which Iām happy to do.
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But Iāll refer to my original questionā¦ what happens when theyāre not?
i do know some people are testing daily at the moment, and even with the prices quoted in the Sky article, thatās going to be a fair cost.
Thatās so awful. I guess this will become more prevalent now.
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I think it was always pretty prevalent. My brother works in an high pressure manufacturer, he had to go to work with Covid twice in the pandemic, realistically he could have lost his job if he took the time off
Your original question was confusing though. You posted an article that stated 1 in 8 have never taken an LFT. You then asked will people continue to do so, when they arenāt free.
The 1 in 8 wonāt be converted to paid tests, if they couldnāt be bothered to take free ones. As for whether people will continue when theyāre paid, I think itās unlikely with the other huge increases to the cost of living. Do I agree that itās the right thing to be doing? Absolutely not. But thatās the sad reality that folk will be unable to engage with the system when thereās a cost involved.
You write this in a way that reads like you disagree with what makes people vulnerable in the first place? Youāve somehow othered vulnerable people, at least, thatās how it reads.
But that wasnāt the advice and you specifically said:
Which is what I was responding to. There have been many reasons to take a a lateral flow test in the past.
Theyāre not random though. If you are going to an arranged gathering of people, from your social circles, itās not a random encounter. Itās planned. You have zero knowledge of the status of other people, and the least you could have done is work as a collective to help reduce the wider impact.
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Thank you.
Iām the first to admit Iām not the best at putting into words what Iām thinking or actually trying to say.
You have interpreted my question perfectly.
I agree in that, with taking LFTs a normal part of life now, it feels weird that there are people who have never taken them. But it also doesnāt surprise me that much given the variety of people and their experiences and attitudes. Thereāll always be a small section of society on the extreme end. 12.5% isnāt that many really.
I still have no idea why they are getting rid of free tests. Hell make it so if you have symptoms you have to get them sent from a GP (aka it will be local post so quick) or if you have a reason to need them for visiting old folk get them from the care centre the day before.
It would reduce the cost which will make the gov happy and people can test if they need to rather than adding a charge for what is an NHS service although the gov is possibly hoping for employers to stump up more cash for them leading to extra VAT revenue.
You dont have to pay for other tests etc so why is covid different especially when commercial companies are making a profit off selling them for Ā£2?
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On a side note:
The point about ivermectin is that it does actually interfere with the processes that viruses can use to attach to cell membranes. This has been mentioned in lots of studies, along with the caveat that it has never been tested in a proper trial.
Given that Covid- and vaccine-sceptics jumped on this and, consequently, the use of Ivermectin became highly politicised, I think it was necessary for a proper study to be carried out.
I have to say that Iām not surprised at the result 
Depends on your employer - If your employer pays you sick pay youāll get that, or statutory sick pay.
Didnāt furlough payments ends months ago?
Statutory sick pay will no longer be payable from the first day of illness. It is now back to four days.
I personally get full sick pay through work but like everything this government does they are hitting the poorest people the hardest.
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Thank goodness we have a comprehensive testing programme to track these variantsā¦
Oh.
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