THE DEPARTMENT of Health (DoH) on Friday noted that there are still no Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved self-administered tests for coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) in the market yet, though that may change soon.

Speaking at an online news briefing on Friday, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario S. Vergeire discussed the differences between self-administered tests and those administered by health professionals, and also confirmed the specifics of the shortened quarantine protocols for fully vaccinated healthcare workers.

The test kits used by healthcare workers, she noted, require reaching deeper into the nose, specifically the nasopharyngeal area, while self-test kits need to swab only the shallow portions of the nose at the nasal area, making them easier to use.

“The Department of Health would like to remind everyone that no test is perfect, but our tests, if used at the right opportunity and time, will provide the right information regarding the action we need to take,” said Ms. Vergeire in a mix of English and Filipino.

“At present, no antigen test kit that is self-administered has been registered by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yet,” she said, as the FDA only started accepting applications for special certification on Thursday. The release of the guidelines will be on Jan. 17.

FDA-approved antigen test kits are recommended to be used and administered by trained health care workers, she added, because the result may turn inaccurate if the sample is taken wrongly.

QUARANTINE LENGTH

“If in doubt, no need to wait for the test, isolate” immediately, said Ms. Vergeire, since people experiencing symptoms are highly likely to receive positive test results.

For the general population, the health undersecretary said those who test positive but have no symptoms for COVID-19, or who have mild or moderate symptoms, must isolate for 10 days, while those with critical or severe symptoms must isolate for 21 days.

Vaccinated close contacts must isolate for seven days, while the partially vaccinated or unvaccinated must isolate for 14 days.

This is the rule unless a doctor tells the patient otherwise, Ms. Vergeire said.

Protocols were also revised as “shortened duration of isolation and quarantine of fully vaccinated health care workers in consideration of their healthcare capacity” will be implemented.

Those who contracted COVID-19 with no, mild, or moderate symptoms only need to spend up to five days in quarantine, while fully vaccinated close contacts no longer have to isolate. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan

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