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Antigen tests to do at home, discouraged by health
Rapid antigen tests to do from home and detect COVID19 do not have an approval date in Spain , where authorities and experts insist that these must be carried out by health professionals. It is a rapid technique that uses a nasal or saliva sample and in a matter of 15 minutes returns a result : positive or negative. The sensitivity is greater than 93%, but they need a higher viral load to detect the virus. These tests are mainly marketed by two companies: Ellume and Abbott, and in the United States, where they have just been approved, they are priced at $30 and $25, respectively, according to El Confidencial . Those from the latter company are those that have been used in Spain since September , when the Community of Madrid announced the purchase of 2 million tests , but the companies do not have a horizon for the approval of their general marketing in Europe, states El Confidencial .
Antigen tests are consolidated as the solution to the lack of diagnostic capacity for the coronavirus, but science makes it clear that they are not perfect The technological delay could be a factor to take into account for its general commercialization: a smartphone is needed to obtain the results. Specifically, Abbot uses an app called Navica, while Ellume Europe Cell Phone Number List tests require a more complex analyzer that connects to the mobile phone via Bluetooth. Pharmacies and dental clinics, for their part, could be a safer option compared to home testing, given the saturation of primary care. The president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, announced at the beginning of November that she would request the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products to allow them to carry out COVID19 antigen tests in these establishments, a measure that pharmacists have been demanding since the beginning of the pandemic. 
We are experiencing an extraordinary situation in which Primary Care is collapsed and what we have offered is our network of pharmacies," they explained in previous statements to Business Insider Spain from the General Council of Pharmaceutical Colleges . Pharmacies already carry out these tests on the population in other countries , such as France, Portugal, Australia or Canada, insist the Official College of Pharmacists (COF) of Madrid. However, many have doubts about the safety of the establishments , especially that of both the staff and other customers. "We cannot think that a person with symptoms goes to a pharmacy and gets tested. Pharmacies should have a COVID-19 circuit and a non-COVID-19 circuit. |
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