The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) started on Monday the conduct of the saliva test pilot testing. Participants are required to avoid drinking, eating, and smoking 30 minutes before samples are taken. The turnaround time of a result takes three to four hours.
The saliva test costs around ₱2,000 which is more affordable than the RT-PCR swab test and has a 95-percent concordance rate with the swab test.
Among the countries that have been utilizing the saliva RT-PCR test are Japan, Singapore, France, Hong Kong, United States, and Switzerland.
President Rodrigo Duterte mentioned in his public address last January 4 the use of the new testing method.
The Department of Health (DOH) was then waiting for the PRC to accomplish the additional recommendation of experts for a more accurate basis “to adopt the protocol for saliva specimen.”
The Red Cross said it is expecting to complete the collection of 1,000 samples from health workers of various hospitals this week.
The new testing method will become an alternative method to detect COVID-19 once the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves it. – Report from Karen Villanda
