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At 4.15 pm on Thursday afternoon, the government held an extra-convened press conference where Stefan Löfven released the news that the municipalities and regions of the state have now agreed that the government will fund rapid tests in health and care.
The regions undertake to carry out the tests.
Lena Hallengren, Stefan Löfven and Karin Tegmark Wisell at Thursday’s press conference. Marie Morell, president of the health delegation of the municipalities and regions of Sweden, participates through a video link.
Photo: FREDRIK PERSSON / TT / TT NYHETSBYRÅN
The tests should be able to show results in a quarter of an hour.
– It is above all in health and care where rapid tests are needed as soon as possible. The state will replace the regions for each rapid test, says Stefan Löfven.
Rapid tests less sensitive than PCR tests
The tests are seen as an important tool to detect and counteract outbreaks in the care of the elderly, which the government and the Public Health Agency have failed to protect during the pandemic, according to the interim report from the Corona Commission.
– Rapid tests can also be used in certain situations for people who do not show symptoms but can still be contagious, says Minister of Social Affairs Lena Hallengren (S).
Rapid tests are not as sensitive as PCR tests.
– We told you a couple of weeks ago that rapid tests could be used as a complement to PCR tests. Rapid tests can show results in 15 minutes, but it requires healthcare staff to do the sampling, and we also know that they don’t actually detect virus levels as low as PCR tests, says Lena Hallengren.
– This means that rapid tests serve another function. Under the right conditions, they can detect outbreaks in, for example, nursing homes.
It can catch sick people who show no symptoms.
Rapid test screening should be considered an adjunct, says Karin Tegmark Wisell, department head at the Swedish Public Health Agency.
– Antigen testing can also be used to evaluate healthcare professionals and staff caring for the elderly. Staff who have not experienced symptoms or symptoms so mild that they do not realize they are ill. With regular screening, infectious people can be detected, but screening should really be viewed as an additional measure and not a replacement for measures that already exist, Wisell says.
Marie Morell, president of the Swedish municipal and regional health delegation, will also participate in the press conference.
– Antigen tests, or rapid tests, are a complement to PCR tests and can, for example, be used in the care of the elderly as an effective tool for tracking infections. But also to make an initial evaluation, for example suspicious patients in an emergency room, says Morell.
