Pool testing to push through despite caution by DoH
Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pool testing in the National Capital Region would push through despite the Department of Health (DoH) warning it would not be effective in high-prevalence areas, according to Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Jose Marie “Joey” Concepcion 3rd.
The Go Negosyo founder confirmed the plan in a text message to The Manila Times on Saturday, saying “we will work with the 16 cities and 1 municipality [in Metro Manila].”
His message comes after Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire on Friday said pool testing, which is still under validation, would only be used in areas where there are fewer Covid-19 cases.
It will be used for “specific sectors of the population,” she added.
Although Concepcion agrees with the Health official, he believes this testing method could still work in a high-prevalence area if the number of pools is reduced.
Pools of five or fewer can be used in such areas and up to 20 in low-prevalence areas, according to him.
“It will work. We just have to be more careful. If it will not be cost-efficient, don’t go for [a pool] of 10. It is going to continue, and we are aware of that,” Concepcion said, adding that pool testing should be done “regularly.”
Under pooled testing, swab samples of multiple individuals would go through a single reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test. If a positive result emerges from one batch of pooled tests, further individual assessments will be made.
The test is designed to be sensitive enough to come up positive when at least one sample in the batch is positive. If the swab test of multiple individuals comes back negative, then individual tests are not needed.
Concepcion said on Wednesday that pool testing would be piloted in Makati City next week with public utility drivers and public market vendors as the initial target sectors.
Makati Mayor Mar-Len Abigail Binay hopes the results of the study on pool testing would have a “big impact” on mass-testing protocols and could lead to “more efficient” handling of coronavirus cases.
As of Saturday, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases rose to 126,885, of which 57,559 are active. Of the total, 67,117 have recovered and 2,209 died.
Source: TheManila Times
No comments: