Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 20) — An adviser of President Rodrigo Duterte lashed out at several doctors who warned employers against the use of rapid antibody test for COVID-19 as a requirement to physically go back to work.
“Problema nitong mga doctor, salita nang salita wala namang ginagawa, complain nang complain,” Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion told a Laging Handa briefing on Wednesday.
[Translation: The problem with these doctors is they are all talk, no action. They keep on complaining.]
Concepcion was reacting to the collective stand of medical societies that include the Philippine Medical Association (PMA), the Philippine College of Physicians (PCP), the Philippine Society of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (PSMID), the Philippine College of Occupational Medicine (PCOM), the Philippine Society of Public Health Physicians (PSPHP), the Philippine Society of General Internal Medicine (PSGIM), and the Philippine Academy of Family Physicians (PAFP).
Saying it is “better to test than not to test,” Concepcion insisted more people should be tested especially with the country preparing to further ease lockdown restrictions.
“By the end of the month, we are expected to move towards general community quarantine,” he said. “The more you open the economy, kailangan lalago yung testing mo (your testing must improve).”
The PSMID on Tuesday said “there is no added value requiring antibody testing” for workers who do not show COVID-19-like symptoms.
READ: Medical societies: Do not use antibody tests on returning workers
Dr. Issa Alejandria, president of PSMID, said that rapid kits could yield false positive results, as it cannot detect the presence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
She added that this method is a “waste” of resources, such as the much-needed personal protective equipment.
Instead of COVID-19 testing, the PAFP has recommended a clinical examination of employees to check if they are fit to work. This includes an assessment of a person’s exposure to a COVID-19 patient, travel history and symptoms in the past 14 days.
Concepcion said he supports the use of both the rapid and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests to further increase the country’s testing capacity. An RT-PCR test is considered to be the “gold standard” as it could definitively diagnose if a person is infected with COVID-19.
However, he pointed out “the challenge with RT-PCR is the cost.”
A rapid test kit costs around P450 while a PCR test is valued at about 4,000 to 8,000, he noted.
He defended companies that use rapid test kits as a clearance to return to work, saying they see this as a way to protect both their livelihood and employees.
Firms trust the rapid test because aside from being “proven” to be effective, it is cheaper, he claimed.
“Matagal na itong mga rapid tests, proven na rin ito (These rapid tests have been around for a long time. They have also been proven),” Concepcion said, adding that China has used these kits as a diagnostic tool and was able to contain the highly infectious disease.
The government said on Monday it does not require employers to test their workers, but if they wish to do so, they must shoulder the fee.
The presidential adviser later on apologized for his remarks against the medical societies, adding that he has “nothing but the utmost gratitude and admiration” for those at the frontlines of the crisis.
“I apologize if my words were perceived to criticize doctors in general. I hope we will be united in our efforts,” he said in a statement.
Concepcion said, however, that the country must make use of all available resources, including rapid test kits, to fight the virus and augment testing capacity.
