City Heath Services Officer Rowena Galpo has asked those administering antigen tests at home to report their results to authorities, especially if they have tested positive for the Covid-19.
Galpo said while antigen self-test is now allowed, those administering the kits at home should still coordinate with their office or through the barangay health emergency response teams for records and monitoring purposes.
She said even private clinics that are administering antigen kits to their clients are mandated to report to the CHSO so that accurate figures, especially of those testing positive, will be reflected.
“Our statistics are underestimated because there are those who are testing positive through the antigen self-test kits, but are not reporting them,” Galpo said.
She added reporting antigen positive results to authorities ensure that these cases are managed properly and those who tested positive are isolated to prevent further transmission.
Asked by Councilor Betty Lourdes Tabanda if antigen results are dependable, Galpo said antigen results during a period of surge in cases, as what is being experienced due to the Omicron variant, is highly reliable.
“During a surge, antigen results are 95 to 98 percent reliable so when the results are positive, it is assumed it’s positive (when subjected to RT-PCR),” she said.
The gold standard for the detection of the virus that causes the Covid-19 is the RT-PCR, which is done at licensed molecular laboratories, but the Food and Drugs Administration allowed two brands of antigen self-test kits – Panbio Covid-19 antigen self-test of Abbott and SARS-CoV-2 antigen rapid test of Labnovation.
Those who want to test themselves were asked to buy only the FDA-certified kits as these have undergone the necessary procedures to ensure the accuracy of results.
The city government has launched last week a “hybrid” antigen self-testing in which those who want to know their health status can buy the kits and do the swabbing themselves or have trained personnel do it.
Galpo said in the hybrid system, only the swabbing is done by the individual and the samples will still be processed by a machine, which will determine the results.
The antigen self-test kits cost P280 and may be bought at the Dontogan and Asin barangay halls; Pacdal, near the rotonda; Loakan-Apugan covered court; Irisan multipurpose hall at Purok 15; and at City Camp Central barangay hall. – Jane B. Cadalig
April 20, 2024
