At last… the HIV self-test kit approved for use in 2015 up for sale on the high street

Well done, Superdrug. It will soon stock HIV self-testing kits, making it the first big high-street retailer in the UK to do so.

The BIOSURE HIV Self Test, to be sold for £33 (€37.90), has a 99.7% accuracy rate, and uses a small amount of blood from a fingerprick to give results in 15 minutes.

It was legally approved for sale in the UK in 2015, but hasn’t been available on the high street until now.

While HIV has become much more manageable in recent years, it’s estimated one in eight people with the virus in Britain remains undiagnosed – a total of about 10,000. Superdrug’s move was welcomed by the Terrence Higgins Trust, which said it should help to increase early diagnosis rates.

The charity’s health improvement lead, Marc Thompson, stressed that those who are unable to afford the kit can still be tested for free at most sexual health clinics and GP surgeries.