Online Doctors warns the Devon public about buying expensive and unlicensed Covid 19 tests

ONLINE doctors Vala Health is warning the public against buying Covid 19 antibody tests, currently selling for as much as £250 which aren’t licenced in the UK and might not work.

Vala Health CEO Pete Trainor fears people are so anxious due to the Covid 19 pandemic they may not be aware the testing kits, which are supposed to tell if you have ever had the virus or not, have not been passed by the UK government so may not be fit for purpose.

Now, Vala Health, which provides advice from healthcare professionals online and over the phone, is offering PCR tests to see if you currently have the virus, through a lab partner. But when the service investigated providing antibody ones, they found there still is not one licenced in the UK, but it has not stopped other firms selling them at inflated prices.

Pete says Vala’s doctors have been busy speaking to a wide range of people over the last few months and one of the recurring themes seems to be anxiety around whether they may have already had Covid 19 with mild or even no symptoms, so he can understand the desire to get a test and find out for certain.

But he says an unlicensed test could be worse than not knowing, as it might provide inaccurate results, giving people a false sense of security if they think they have had coronavirus when they have not.

Pete said: “We know people are anxious about Coronavirus and we know there is a genuine demand for antibody tests, however, it does not justify companies profiteering and selling these kits for a hugely inflated price, especially when they know they have not been licenced in this country.”

“If a licence has not been granted in the UK then it could be for a wide variety of reasons, including it not standing up to scrutiny or not being accurate enough which the firms selling them know.”

Pete says he understands all companies, like his, must cover the costs and make some profit to survive and pay their staff but he saddened by anyone exploiting public fear for their own greed.

Vala Health is currently offering free online appointments to vulnerable people across the UK. In order to get access to advice, people need to register online, which is free, but they can then choose to have an appointment just over the phone if they do have a computer or a smart phone or they have problems using technology.

Family members or carers can also register on behalf of a family member who does not use the internet, with their permission and then arrange the appointment to be by phone.

For more information please visit www.valahealth.com