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For almost two months there has been talk in Lombardy about rapid antigenic swabs for the diagnosis of Covid. On October 7, the Regional Welfare Directorate announced the start of using these tools for schools and first aid, but also the purchase of 1.2 million items for citizens, which will be delivered between the end of October and the beginning of November. .
A technical note from the Ministry of Health dates from October that, welcoming quick tampons, indicates for whom they are preferable to traditional ones. The main advantage is the result in about a quarter of an hour, with the “cons” being less precise: it may not identify those who are only weakly positive for Covid-19, because they look for the virus proteins and these, in order to be identified. , must be a certain number. The lower precision means that in case of positivity for the quick swab, it is necessary to undergo the traditional swab. The technical note suggested the quick swab as the “first choice”, especially for asymptomatic close contacts of people already identified as positive for the virus.
Then, a specific resolution of the Lombardy Region authorized the use of rapid buffers for the population. It was early November. Since then, primary care physicians and pediatricians, as well as participating pharmacies, could have quickly swabbed people. In fact, they could. Because in fact, in Milan, this is not happening. For one thing, many doctors don’t consider it safe enough to scrub quickly in the doctor’s office; this could be remedied (and was in the plans) by structuring some places so that they could house physicians who wanted to test their patients.
In fact, however, doctors have yet to start doing quick swabs. This was due to the lack of a regional ordinance confirming a formally drawn up protocol between the Order of Physicians and the Lombardy Region. On the other hand, even drug stores don’t have antigen testing. Also in this case, the delay seems eminently bureaucratic. To ensure the safe execution of tampons in pharmacies it is necessary to establish precise procedures. For example, it is important to find a place near the pharmacy to clean. There is still no general agreement between Lombard pharmacies and the Region. However, pharmacies can now “apply” to offer the service with an online form, communicating the availability to their relevant Ats, and then get the green light.
