{
  "format": "arthurs-review-publication-proof/v1",
  "createdAt": "2026-09-21T13:13:04.718Z",
  "publicUrl": "https://blog.leesaitool.com/commentary/cannot-test-yourself-for-flu-in-spain",
  "publishedAt": "2026-09-21T13:13:04.718Z",
  "updatedAt": "2026-09-21T13:13:04.718Z",
  "article": {
    "titleZh": "流感大作战",
    "titleEn": "Flu Challenge",
    "slug": "cannot-test-yourself-for-flu-in-spain",
    "category": "commentary",
    "excerptZh": "为何在西班牙无法自测流感",
    "excerptEn": "Why couldn't you test yourself for flu in Spain",
    "seoDescription": "",
    "bodyZh": "刚到西班牙的头几个月，我不幸感染了甲型流感，后来还发展成了疑似支原体感染或肺炎。作为一位经验丰富、跑医院跑得很勤的病人，我当然去看了医生，但有几件事让我注意到了。\n\n第一，这家私立医院里没有任何能检测支原体的设备。在网上也买不到这类检测产品，而同样的东西在中国不到15欧元就能轻松买到。\n\n第二，私立医疗保险完全不报销这类药，公立医保也只报销35%到60%，具体比例取决于居民的收入。\n\n第三，在中国，很多处方药都可以通过网上问诊、互联网医院或线上医生开方买到，而在西班牙，这完全行不通。\n\n而这篇文章，我只谈第一个问题：为什么在西班牙买不到自检测试剂盒。\n\n中国自测盒之所以能大规模普及，主要得益于疫情期间对这种产品的巨大需求。但厂家要生产这些试剂盒，首先必须获得政府批准。\n\n在疫情最惨烈的阶段，中国政府审批一款检测试剂盒用时不到三周；而欧洲同行要花上好几个月，而且审批要过两关——必须先获得欧盟层面的批准，再逐一获得各成员国的批准，等于双重审批。\n在西班牙，障碍还要更大。长期以来，自测盒只允许在药店销售，而需求又相对有限，药店非常不愿意把这些产品纳入自己的SKU（商品目录）。\n\n疫情初期，西班牙政府甚至要求自测过程必须由专业人员指导。至于允许自测盒在零售店和电商巨头销售，更是迟至2021年底才放开，那时疫情已接近尾声。\n\n与此同时，中国批准了海量的此类产品，并迅速允许它们在京东、淘宝等电商巨头上销售。中国政府的动态清零政策也进一步放大了对这种产品的需求。\n结果就是：中国的自测盒产能和供给呈爆发式增长，而欧洲受制于层层监管，只实现了温和的增长。\n\n疫情过后，这些自测产能全部闲置，进而引发了一场惨烈的价格战。于是，各种疾病自测盒的价格一落千丈。在中国，在家检测不同疾病变得越来越容易。\n\n归根结底，是监管速度、市场需求和销售渠道管控三者的叠加，造就了自测盒领域中国的绝对主导地位，也让欧盟在这场竞争中一败涂地。\n\n一个有趣的事实：在西班牙，大多数医院和学校护士用的是腋温计，也就是夹在腋下量体温的那种。当时我发冷、头晕、头痛，腋温计测出来只有35.6度，而我的实际体温是38度。",
    "bodyEn": "In my first months in Spain, I unfortunately caught influenza A, which later led to suspected mycoplasma or pneumonia. Of course I went to the doctor as a frequent and experienced hospital visitor, and several things caught my eye. \n\nFirst, that there are no devices in the private hospital to test mycoplasma. Nor is it possible to purchase it online, as it is easily available for under 15 euros in China. \n\nSecond, that the private medical insurance has no coverage for the medicine, and the public one, only covering 35% to 60%, depending on the income of the citizen. \n\nThird, that it is possible to purchase a lot of prescribed medicine in China online through Internet hospitals or virtual doctors, while it is completely not possible in Spain. \n\nAnd now in this article I will just focus on the first problem, which is about why it is impossible to purchase self-testing devices/kits in Spain. \n\nThe mass availability of such self-testing kits in China is mainly due to the gigantic need of such kits during the pandemic. But to manufacture these kits, they must first obtain a license from the government. \n\nIn the most disastrous days of the pandemic, the Chinese government could approve a testing kit in less than 3 weeks, while their European counterpart had to spend months, and also a double, for everything has to be both approved in the European Union and separately in all the member states. \n\nIn Spain, the obstacle is even greater with self-testing kits, that for a long time they had only been allowed to be sell in pharmacies, and with a relatively small demand, pharmacies are very reluctant to include them into their SKU. \n\nIn the beginning of the pandemic, the Spanish government had even required self-testing process to be guided by a professional. Furthermore, the permission for self-testing kits to be sold in retail stores and online giants have only been given until late 2021, when the pandemic is near its end. \n\nIn the same time, such products have been approved in great amounts in China and quickly allowed to be sold in online giants such as JD and Taobao. The Dynamic zero-COVID policy of the Chinese government also created even greater need for such product. \n\nAs a result, the production capacity and availability of self-testing kits has exploded in China, while only growing modestly in Europe, which is still bounded by regulations. \n\nAfter the pandemic, these production capacities of self-testing kits all set idle, which leads to the cruel pricing battle. As a result, the prices for self-testing kits for all sorts of diseases come down dramatically. In China it has become ever easier to test different diseases at home. \n\nIn conclusion, the combination of regulatory speed, market need, and distributional controls enabled China's domination regarding self-testing kits and also results to the European Union's complete defeat. \n\nInteresting fact: in Spain, most hospitals and school nurses use axillary thermometer, which measures the body temperature under the armpit. When I was feeling cold and dizzy and had a headache, this thermometer measured me to be 35.6 degrees, while in reality I am 38 degrees. ",
    "coverImagePath": "uploads/2026/09/b76e627d-3207-49ae-b0e7-a751c07c2b2d.webp",
    "tags": []
  }
}