THE Office of Civil Defense is procuring and distributing the Abbott Panbio coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Ag Rapid Test Device for the detection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in people who have been exposed. Forty-five hospitals and local government units in Metro Manila and nearby provinces recently received these tests, which are ideal for communities. Individuals have the option of a nasal swab for collection of specimens, making the process less invasive and more convenient. The test — which is authorized for use by healthcare professionals — requires no instrumentation and provides results as early as 15 minutes. Negative results do not preclude COVID-19 infection and cannot be used as the sole basis for treatment or other management decisions. Results from a clinical study by Abbott of 508 samples demonstrated that Panbio COVID-19 Ag with a nasal swab has a 98.1% sensitivity and 99.8% specificity on people who were suspected of exposure to COVID-19 or had symptoms in the last seven days. Panbio is included in the Emergency Use List of the World Health Organization. More details at facebook.com/Abbott.
