MADRID, Reuters – Spain has announced that it will limit the prices of rapid coronavirus testing and make its booster shots available to all over 18 years old. This was a day after Omicron spread slowing down.

Carolina Darias (Health Minister) stated Saturday that public antigen tests will now be available for sale starting at 2.94 euro ($3.37). Prices are more comparable to other European countries.

Darias explained to reporters that his first goal was to stabilize the supply once demand had increased by over 1000. After this, we then focused on stabilizing prices.

Spain experienced sporadic shortages in antigen testing during December. This was due to a spike in demand for the Omicron test and because people wanted to take tests at year’s end.

Antigen tests can only be purchased in Spanish pharmacies. This is despite the calls of supermarket lobby groups as well as some experts on health to make them available in supermarkets.

Carolina Darias stated that there will now be a five-month wait between the first dose and booster shots.

Darias noted, “Reducing time before boosters is in accordance with the countries of our region” and that this was part of a strategic response which is continuously evolving. She also stated that older groups would be vaccinated.