The Department of Health (DOH) said it is coordinating with the health experts on the use of antigen self-test kits for the detection of the virus that causes coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
“Inaantay natin ang rekomendasyon ng ating Technical Advisory Group of Experts. Kasi sa ngayon ang antigen test kits ginagamit in a laboratory setup. Hindi pa siya home-use (We are waiting for the recommendation of our Technical Advisory Group of Experts. At present, antigen test kits are being used in a laboratory setup. It is not for home-use yet),” said Health Secretary Francisco Duque III during a public briefing on Wednesday, Jan. 5.
“So, inaantay natin ang rekomendasyon kung ano ang mga dapat malagay sa guidelines para hindi magkamali ang pagbasa o pag interpret ng resulta kung gagamitin ang antigen test kits---self administered (So, we are waiting for the recommendation on what should be included in the guidelines so that there is no mistake in reading or interpreting the results when using antigen test kits --- self administered),” he added.
Aside from the country’s health experts, Duque said that the DOH is also coordinating with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding the matter.
Meanwhile, infectious disease expert Dr. Rontgene Solante expressed his approval to use antigen self-administered test kits to speed up detection of those who contracted COVID-19.
“I advocated for home testing, especially those with symptoms,” said Solante during a town hall event organized by Go Negosyo on Wednesday.
“The advantage there, if you are symptomatic and you get the test and you are positive, you can isolate yourself, can do contact tracing early on, and prevent the transmission....compared to going out and having the RT-PCR,” he added.
On Jan. 4, the Philippines logged 5,434 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of active infections in the country to 29,809.
Since the start of the pandemic in 2020, the Philippines’ total number of confirmed cases stood at 2,861,119—wherein 2,779,706 patients were tagged as recoveries, while 51,604 people died.