Hindi pa aprubado ng Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ang anumang self-administered COVID-19 antigen test kit sa bansa sa ngayon, paalala ng Department of Health (DOH) sa publiko.

Sinabi ni DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire na lahat ng antigen tests ay dapat pa ring gawin ng mga medical professional sa ngayon.

“Currently, there are no FDA approved COVID-19 self testing kits,” ani Vergeire.

“The administering of antigen tests should be done by trained healthcare workers in order to ensure accurate results,” dagdag niya.

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Pinaalalahanan ni Vergeire ang mga nakakaranas ng sintomas ng COVID-19 na sumangguni sa mga medical professional.

“The DOH urges people who experience flu-like symptoms or have been in close contact with a confirmed or probable case to self-isolate, consult telemed, and get tested,” sabi ng health official.

“In this way, we can immediately respond to the threats of transmission of the virus,” aniya pa.

Binanggit din ng tagapagsalita ng DOH na "ang RT-PCR test pa rin ang gold-standard sa testing.”

Noong Enero 6, inihayag ng FDA na tumatanggap na ito ng mga aplikasyon para sa espesyal na sertipikasyon ng mga self-administered COVID-19 test kit.

“I am calling all the manufacturers and even the importers of self-administered COVID-19 test kits to register their product in a form of special certification,” sabi ni FDA Officer-in-Charge Oscar Gutierrez.

Analou de Vera