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CLINICAL MATTERS
On April 29, 2022, the Department of Health (DOH) held a recognition program for the DOH All Health Experts with the theme: “Looking Back, Marching Forward: DOH All Health Experts Convening from Covid-19 to U
Only PRC labs allowed to perform saliva testing: DOH
Published 2 months ago
Following the recommendation from the Covid-19 Laboratory Experts Panel, the DOH approved the use of saliva as an alternate specimen in reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction testing on Jan. 21. (PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan)
MANIILA – Philippine Red Cross (PRC) laboratories are the only facilities the Department of Health (DOH) allowed to perform saliva testing since the procedure still involves validation.
In a Viber message to reporters, the DOH said local government units, offices, and epidemiological surveillance units recognize only the PRC labs for saliva testing, which indicates that home or do-it-yourself saliva test kits in the market are not approved.