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MANILA, Philippines – The National Working Group on COVID-19 (NTF) clarified on Wednesday that the pilot study on the use of antigen tests to detect coronavirus infections has not yet been completed and is still being evaluated by the Department of Health. (DOH).
The NTF issued the statement after its spokesman, retired General Restituto Padilla, announced that antigen testing did not meet DOH standards for accuracy and sensitivity.
“The Baguio antigen pilot is not yet complete and there is no validation yet,” the NTF said. “This statement is issued to clarify the previous statements of the NTF Spokesperson made during the Kapihan sa Manila Bay, which may have been understood as the end of the possible adoption of said test protocol.”
“There are many antigen test kits on the market and the recent pilot was specific to some of these that remain to be tested. The FDA is also ready to review new types of COVID19 tests as they become available.
DOH is conducting a study on antigen testing to detect the new coronavirus in travelers entering the city of Baguio. The pilot study was launched despite a statement from the World Health Organization discouraging antigen testing for border detection.
Although RT-PCR tests remain the “gold standard” for detecting the virus, they are not cost effective and generally take several days for results to be published.
A sample is collected through a nasal or pharyngeal swab, similar to RT-PCR in the use of antigen tests. However, unlike RT-PCR, antigen test results can be published in 4 to 6 hours. [ac]
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What you need to know about the coronavirus.
For more information on COVID-19, call the DOH hotline: (02) 86517800 local 1149/1150.
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