BATANG MAYNILA
Mayor Isko Moreno
I have noticed that there seems to be persistent erroneous reports which make it appear that what we are using in our drive-thru and walk-in COVID testing centers are rapid test kits and are therefore unreliable.
Although I have, on several occasions and interviews, already corrected the misinformation and misplaced comprehension of those behind the reports, I will again attempt to enlighten those who may be interested to get a better and correct understanding of what we are doing in Manila.
I particularly take exception to the reports saying that since the newly established drive-thru and walk-in COVID testing centers in the city are actually using rapid test kits, those getting tested, therefore, have no reason to feel assured. Not only does it undermine the tests being done, it also misleads the public availing of the free COVID testing and it is utterly wrong.
What we are actually doing in those testing centers are not “rapid tests” but instead,we call it the “serology anti-body lab testing” which is far, far more efficient than using rapid test kits.
Firstly, our tests do not yield “false positive” or “false negative” results like what happens with rapid test kits.
Secondly, rapid tests are strip-based only, while the serology tests in Manila are laboratory-based. The blood samples are taken to a lab and subjected to serological tests, which, based on my own personal research, are defined as blood tests that look for antibodies in the blood as well as diagnose various disease condittons.
While there are various types of laboratory techniques, the one being utilized by the city falls under the highest category of laboratory testing.
Why are we using this? It is because this is more sensitive and specific than rapid test.
Just like in the case of swab tests where the samples taken from the nose and mouth are put in a machine for testing and analysis, our drive-thru and walk-in centers collect blood samples and these are also tested and analyzed, using the machines I have mentioned.
In the case of swabbing, the machine used is reverse time-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) while the drive-thru and walk-in centers make use of the “Architecti1000 SR” machines which we purchased from Abbott Laboratories, a highly reputable multinational company known for making such machines.
These machines, according to medical professionals we have talked to, are really high-end, with 99.6 percent specificity and 100 percent sensitivity and are also being used in known and expensive private hospitals. So, basically, at least in this aspect, we sort of bridged the gap between the rich and the poor since the kind of machines being used for affluent patients are now being used for the penniless as well.
I can say with confidence that the purchase of the said machines is really “value for money” since their usefulness will go beyond the pandemic, as they can also aid in the diagnosis of infection or check for past infection. They can also be used for other deadly diseases like human immuno virus or HIV, hepatitis, thyroid, cardiac and cancer markers, among others.
These machines definitely yield more accurate results and thus do away with the “false positive” and “false negative” that sometimes result from using rapid test kits.
We have procured an Architect i2000 machine whose load capacity is double, compared to the Architect i1000 and it is now being used in the walk-in COVID-19 testing center at the Justice Abad Santos General Hospital (JASGEN) in the city’s third district.
With the unfolding developments related to COVID-19, Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna and I, with the help and support of our key medical officers, are continously thinking of ways to come up with futher improved and a more efficient approach to the problems brought about by the pandemic.
In ending, let me assure everyone that the tests we conduct at the drive-thru centers in front of the Bonifacio Shrine beside the Manila City Hall and along Independence Road fronting the Quirino Grandstand in Luneta are not rapid tests. Ditto with our walk-in test centers at the Gat Andres Bonifacio MemorialMedical Center, Ospital ng Sampaloc, and JASGEN.
They are reliable, open to all interested — Manilans and non-Manilans
a like — and most of all, they are free.
Gaya ng paulit-ulit kong sinasabi, kailangan ko angtulong ninyong lahat.
Walang mag mamalasakit sa Maynila kundi tayo ding mga Batang Maynila. Manila, God first!
For updates on latest developments in the city of Manila, please visit my Facebook account — ‘IskoMoreno Domagoso.’