Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 16) — An expert is encouraging the use of the antigen diagnostic method to boost the country’s testing capacity amid another surge in COVID-19 cases driven by the more transmissible Delta coronavirus variant.
“How do we ramp up testing? We definitely need to use all the tools at hand and one of them is antigen testing. Aside from RT-PCR testing, we also need to utilize antigen testing,” UP-PGH Medical Research Laboratory head Dr. Januario Veloso told CNN Philippines.
It was Veloso’s response when asked how the government can ramp up its COVID-19 testing efforts as more cases of the feared Delta variant are detected and the first local case of the Lambda variant is reported.
In the Philippines, results from antigen tests are not included in the official COVID-19 cases report, except during the period when they were allowed in some areas, including Metro Manila, after a surge in infections early this year.
RT-PCR testing remains to be the “gold standard” when it comes to confirming COVID-19 cases, but Veloso noted that antigen testing may be as good “if you know how to use it.”
He explained that antigen testing may not be as accurate as RT-PCR when it comes to sensitivity and specificity, but it can be reliable when used on a patient during the most infectious period, or when viral loads are at the highest.
“The timing of the testing is also very crucial. If you just compare antigen testing and RT-PCR testing and you don’t test them at the infectious period, definitely antigen testing will suffer. But if you test them during the infectious period antigen testing is just as good,” Veloso added.
The expert also said results from such testing may be also included in the official tally, especially when done by laboratories testing symptomatic patients.
Latest government data show that there are currently 273 testing labs across the country processing around 300,000 samples a day.
Total COVID-19 cases in the country are now at 1,755,846, with the addition of 14,610 new ones on Monday — the third consecutive day the tally rose by over 14,000. Active cases, or currently ill patients, are at 106,672.
