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Frequently asked questions
Status: 16.02.2021 5:11 pm
Will you become a game changer? In March, rapid home tests could also be approved in Germany. What can and what cannot. Answers to the most important questions.
What are rapid self-consumption tests?
For previously approved rapid tests, a smear with a long stick is usually taken deep into the nose or throat. For this, trained personnel are used. That should change with the new quick self-test tests.
These self-tests are much easier to use and less hassle. With the help of instructions, they should be able to diagnose those affected by themselves without going to a testing center. Gargle and saliva tests are being discussed, but also tests in which swabs are taken higher up the nose. In the gargle test, for example, you gargle with a special liquid for half a minute to a minute to loosen particles in your throat. Then the sample still needs to be examined.
How reliable are the tests?
Experts say the tests work well, especially when the virus load is high. That means: people who are highly contagious can be quickly identified. The downside: infected people with a low virus load, however, could not be detected. Plus, experts warn, testing is always just a snapshot.
How Rapid Corona Tests Work and How Safe They Are
David Beck, SWR, tagesschau24 4:00 pm, February 16, 2021
In a study conducted by the Berlin Charité and Heidelberg University Hospital, about 150 patients with suspected corona were observed performing a self-test. The swab had to be guided along the inner walls of the nose in a circular motion for 15 seconds in the frontal nasal area at a depth of two to three centimeters. According to the dpa news agency, only minimal differences were found between self-tests and professional tests: 33 out of 40 infected people were detected during the self-test, otherwise 34.
Only a laboratory PCR test can confirm the rapid test result with certainty.
What should self-assessments contribute?
The goal is to identify the virus carriers early on. If half the population were tested twice a week and stayed home if the test was positive, this would have an effect similar to that of a vaccine, said Alexander Beisenherz, co-founder of the independent scientific initiative rapidtests.de, in Ed. “The virus could no longer spread in society.”
Federal Minister for Family Affairs Franziska Giffey hopes that the new rapid self-administration tests will provide “a way to shorten the time to vaccination.” She called the tests a “real game changer.”
Greens boss Robert Habeck sees rapid tests as an important part of opening and relaxation strategies. The state must “learn from the failed acquisition of vaccines and provide purchase guarantees,” it demands.
City councils are also pinning high hopes on the tests. They have “immense potential and can be an important means of creating new prospects for openness,” said the executive director of the German Association of Cities and Towns, Gerd Landsberg, of the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung”.
Virologist Alexander Kekulé has also been emphasizing the benefits of large-scale self-tests for months.
How much should they cost?
On March 1, Health Minister Jens Spahn wants to offer free rapid tests for everyone, which are performed by trained personnel at testing centers or pharmacies. However, the planned self-tests should not be available for free. We are talking about a “small contribution” of one euro.
Medical President Klaus Reinhardt once warned: They should not lead to exclusion in everyday life, for example, if they are used in addition to schools and kindergartens for the gradual opening of cultural events and for recreational sports. “The prerequisite for this is that there is enough testing available and affordable for everyone,” Reinhardt said in an interview.
How are the first experiences?
In Austria, self-assessments are already being used in schools. In the test method used in Austria, a swab is used to take a swab into the nasal cavity. A solution is applied to the swab and the test strip changes color after 15 minutes. The Austrian Ministry of Education announces in a video that it is as easy as picking your nose. The teachers accompany the test and have been previously trained. According to the ministry, schools will be equipped with a total of 20 million test units in the coming weeks.
In the first week after starting school, around 470,000 exams were taken in Lower Austria and Vienna, Austrian media reported last week. 200 tests were reported to be positive, including 75 teachers and administrative staff. Epidemiologist Gerald Gartlehner evaluated the tests in the Vienna “Standard” as positive, despite initial skepticism: all the tests had weaknesses, “especially these,” he told the newspaper. “But if we can filter 40 percent on a regular basis, then we really have gained a lot.”
Starting March 1, free corona home self-tests will be issued in Austrian pharmacies. Each Austrian should have up to five pieces per month, the APA news agency reported.
In Potsdam, kindergarten educators have used corona spit tests since February 1, which must be tested at home twice a week before work and can only go to work if the result is negative. “The spit tests allowed us to de facto return to normal operations on February 1,” said Potsdam Mayor Mike Schubert of the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung”. “Of course, we cannot stop Corona with testing, but we can more quickly recognize if there is an imminent danger and then we can react immediately and stop the spread.”
However, the tests used in Potsdam are not yet approved for non-professional use, but must be performed by specialized personnel. The educators had received an information session.
When do the tests come?
For approval a test procedure is required, for example from TÜV or Dekra. Not only is quality checked. We also test whether the leaflet is understandable, then there is also the CE mark. Special approvals are also possible.
The Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) expects the first special approvals for non-professional rapid tests in early March. So far almost 30 applications have been submitted.
According to the Diagnostic Industry Association, the first products have already passed the testing procedure and will be available for delivery shortly.
