The city state has a special weapon in its fight against the coronavirus: cheap and readily available rapid antigen tests that mean Covid sufferers can isolate at home.
Abbott's Panbio Covid-19 Antigen Self-Test kit (Photo courtesy of Abbott) MANILA - The use of self-administered Covid-19 test kits does not require healthcare workers to perform nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal swab collection. In a televised Laging Handa public briefing, Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) Laboratory Chief Armando Tandoc III said the test kits will require nasal samples only. "Kapag po nasal, galing lamang po ito sa harapan o kaya hanggang gitnang bahagi ng ilong na maaaring kunin sa sarili o kung sa may kapansanan o sa mga bata ay maaaring kunin ng isang nakakatanda (When you say nasal, the sample is from the front or up to middle part of the nose of an individual, in case of children or persons with disabilities any adult can assist them)," Tandoc said. He added that some test kits will require saliva samples. "So, sa pagsagawa naman po ng test mismo, may mga instruction naman na susundin kung paanong ilagay iyong sample sa cartridge at
Abbott'sPanbio Covid-19 Antigen Self-Test kit (Photo courtesy of Abbott) MANILA - An official of the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) on Wednesday said the use of self-administered Covid-19 test kits authorized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is "important" to ensure accuracy of the results. In a televised public briefing, RITM Laboratory Chief Armando Tandoc III noted that FDA-authorized test kits have been evaluated by experts and come with complete instructions. Since such kits are designed for use by the public, Tandoc said the RITM has considered their ease of use. "Kaya mahalaga na iyong gagamitin na mgakitssa pag-testayauthorizedngFDA (It's important that the kits we'll use for testing are authorized by the FDA)," he added. Tandoc said the RITM requires manufacturer-applicants to submit technical documents about the performance and validation of the kits. "Kasama rin ang paggamit nito at mga pag-aaral na ginagawa para