French health pass: supervised self-tests can be used again, in theory

The French government has suspended a decree stating that health passes could not be obtained through the use of a supervised self-administered Covid test - but in practice it is still not possible to use them.

As Covid tests became payable on October 15, the government said that unvaccinated people would no longer be allowed to carry out a test themselves under the supervision of a health professional in order to get a health pass.

At the time, the Conseil d’État (Council of State) had commented that “this form of test had only been provided in order to avoid any difficulties with accessing PCR or antigen tests as the health pass was being implemented.

“These difficulties did not materialise and there is no risk of them appearing now.”

Instead of paying around €5.20 for the self-test, they would be charged around €25-€30 for a pharmacist or other professional to carry out the procedure.

On October 29, the Conseil d’État suspended this decree, reintroducing the possibility of obtaining a health pass through a negative self-administered test.

Government information service service-public.fr now states that people can acquire a temporary health pass by presenting “proof of a negative PCR, antigen or self-test carried out under the supervision of a health professional within the last 72 hours.”

The SI-DEP portal for Covid testing information confirms that: “Self-tests carried out under the supervision of a health professional are once again recognised as proof for the health pass.”

However, nearly two weeks later, health professionals have not been issued with any instructions to this effect and are still unable to issue health pass QR codes using this method, reports 20 Minutes.

A Parisian pharmacy told the newspaper yesterday (November 9) that “at the moment, if we are supposed to be able to issue health passes [using this form of test] it is impossible.

“As of today, we have not received any official documents confirming that supervised self-tests are valid once again, nor any instructions on the procedure to be followed.”

“The government has not communicated [with us] on the subject,” added Pierre-Olivier Variot, president of the pharmacist representative Union de syndicats de pharmaciens d’officine (USPO).

“We have asked for information and for the prices associated with the resumption of this option for the health pass, but for the moment we do not know anything.”

The Connexion has contacted the Department of Health to ask whether self-administered tests can currently be used for a health pass, but we have not yet received a response.

Related stories

Covid: As daily cases reach 10,000, can France avoid a fifth wave?

Must I pay for Covid tests in France even if I cannot get vaccinated?

Will end of free tests for unvaccinated in France distort Covid data?