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An angry Fugatti, who yesterday in two different press conferences wanted to emphasize several times that “Trentino does not compose the Covid data”, explaining (and having to explain) why the Health Authority does not communicate the number of infected to Rome with ” Rapid tests “but only those of the” molecular swab “.
A dyscrasia that had been highlighted several times in recent days, especially by the mayors of Trentino, who publicly announced that the true contagions of Covid, in their territory, were at least three times more than the official figures. Which, according to Fugatti, was “cleverly edited by someone” and in particular by “some press organs.”
He spoke about it in the morning, for the first time, in the presentation of the study on the projection carried out in 5 municipalities of Trentino between April and September (here the article: “Those who have taken Covid are protected by antibodies.“). Leaving to Dr. Giovanni Rezza, director of Prevention of the Ministry of Health, the task of explaining that” this is what the Ministry asks of us. “Rezza is, to understand, the person who developed the regional monitoring system of data that lets you decide who is in the yellow, orange or red zone.
Rezza already knew what we were talking about, since – off the air, but audible to everyone – Dr. Ferro from the Sanitary Company reminded him “did you see that WhatsApp I sent you this morning … here we have a problem that is political , in antigenic swabs. ”But his answer was very clear, which Fugatti later posted on Facebook in the afternoon.
«It is clear – said the Roman executive – that the reference test is the molecular one (the hyssop, ed). So it becomes clear that regions have also started to use antigen testing (the “rapid tests, ed) to lighten the burden of laboratories, which would otherwise be overwhelmed. In some circumstances, however, the latter must be confirmed by molecular testing. However, there is a difference in reliability: the antigen test (“rapid”) is less sensitive, and if the patient has a low viral load, they lead to so-called “false negatives”; moreover, sometimes the antigen test is not confirmed by the molecular test. ‘
So: should rapid tests be counted or not? “It is being discussed at the national level and also with other regions. We are thinking – explained Dr. Rezza – how to adapt information flows to the increasing use of antigen testing. We will have to find a way – said the national manager – to count the “fast” buffers, but with great care not to distort the trend ».
The problem of the distorted trend was explained by Dr. Ferro, from the Trentino Health Authority: “I have always tried to answer this question. One of the issues is that you can’t just add the results of the two tests. Take, for example, a test that is done with the antigen, and then confirmed with the molecular one: in the end what we have, the communication of two positive tests, but the case is only one. Either we find a uniform system or it is a big mess. When the Ministry tells us what the criteria will be to communicate them, we will comply. We have already ordered it since September 30th ».
For Dr. Ferro “Finding many positive cases is strategic, but having more positive cases is not worse, but only a sign of a detection ratand (tracking index, ed) higher. The fact that I know that they have many cases of positivity every day is a positive sign, it means that a lot has been tried ”.
A concept highlighted by Dr. Rezza: “The number of infections is not a license of a region: the evaluation is made on many parameters, but basically the fact that a region is yellow or red derives from its resilience to contagion through It is not based on the infections you transmit, but also on your ability to cope. For example, it takes at least two alert episodes to change from yellow to orange. Those who are not in the red zone today they are because they have shown greater resistance in their health system.
A fact proudly highlighted by Fugatti: “Someone wanted to link this controversy to the fact that Trentino would continue to be yellow because it did not report all infections. But this is not the case: for Dr. Rezza “the relationship is an objective relationship, also linked to the speed of transmission of the infection”.
Pending a “coordinated data transmission system”, for Dr. Rezza a solution could come, for example, from the separate communication of the two data, positive for swab and positive for rapid test, which is being processed. With understandable urgency from Fugatti, given that, as Dr. Ferro said, the problem is not just epidemiological. But it is a “political problem”.
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