The Philippines is now back to Alert Level 2 and thankfully, the number of COVID cases being recorded per day has slowly reduced from five to four digits. Although people are allowed to go out given that they observe proper health protocols, most of the Filipino community waits within the comfort of their homes for the situation to get better.
However, despite the lowering of cases, there are still those who are reluctant to leave their homes but want to check their health status and keep themselves protected at the same time. There are also people who look for convenience when it comes to risk-reduction measures, especially for COVID-19 testing.
What can be the solution for this?
ISPS will pioneer in offering the type of antigen kits that are solely for home testing as it enters the market here in the Philippines. These kits have high margins of sensitivity (close to 100%) in identifying patients with COVID-19.
Here’s our current antigen kits that you can purchase from our website.
Check out our available FDA-approved antigen test kits here.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), self-tests, which are also known as a “home test”, “at-home test”, or “over-the-counter (OTC) test”, are one of several options for testing for the virus that causes COVID-19 and may be more convenient than laboratory-based tests and point-of-care tests.
Benefits of self-testing are as follows:
It is simple to perform
You can test yourself privately
You can receive almost immediate results
You can detect your health conditions early
You don’t need to go out and travel to a healthcare facility
You can use COVID-19 self-tests regardless of vaccination status or whether or not you have symptoms. CDC also reminds us when you can take a COVID-19 self-test. Check it here. Click this link to pre-order from ISPS.
What is Antigen Testing?
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), antigen tests are also known as rapid diagnostic tests. This type of testing method detects a specific viral antigen, which implies current infection. An antigen is a toxin or other foreign substance which induces an immune response in the body, especially the production of antibodies.
The antigens detected are identified only when the virus is actively replicating which means rapid antigen tests perform best when the person is tested in the early stages of infection with SARS-CoV-2 when viral load is generally highest.
Antigen tests make use of nasal or throat swabbing or via saliva. The procedures are as follows.
For nasal or throat:
Your doctor inserts a long nasal swab (like a long Q-tip) into the cavity between the nose and mouth (nasopharyngeal swab) for 15 seconds and rotating it several times.
This may be somewhat uncomfortable. The body is not used to having an object in that area so it may activate the lacrimal reflex (discharge of tears). It may also trigger a gag reflex (feeling like you’re about to vomit) since the swab will touch the back of the throat.
The process is then repeated on the other side of the nose to make sure enough material is collected for the test.
The sample gets sealed in a tube and sent for analysis.
For saliva:
Perform hand hygiene with soap and water/alcohol-based hand rub. Open the container. Make a “Kruuua” noise from the throat to clear the saliva from deep throat, then spit saliva (about 2 ml) into the container. Avoid any saliva contamination of the outer surface of the container.
ISPS offers all possible means of antigen specimen collection preferred by a client in order to be more accessible, especially for senior citizens and children.
Difference between Antigen Swab Testing and RT-PCR Testing
Like reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests, antigen tests usually require a nose or throat swab. But unlike PCR tests, which look for genetic material from the SARS-CoV-2 virus, antigen tests look for proteins that live on the virus’ surface.
Another notable difference is that rapid antigen tests are faster and easier to perform than RT-PCR tests. The most time-consuming part of the antigen test process is waiting for the antibody mixtures and the sample to mix completely but even so, this process takes mere minutes, given the small volumes typically used in an antigen test.
Comparison of Antigen Saliva Testing with RT-PCR
RT-PCR is still the country’s gold standard when it comes to detecting COVID-19, but now that saliva testing is already being offered, it serves as a cheaper and more convenient alternative for the Filipino public.
For both Manila and Pampanga sites, ISPS offers in-clinic and mobile testing services for Antigen swabbing along with other testing methods for COVID-19 such as RT-PCR and Rapid Antibody testing.
Antigen home test kits, which can be self-administered to a family member, are now available in the Philippine market. ISPS will introduce this to the Filipino community as a new way to get themselves easily tested with a simple and affordable solution at the comfort of their own homes.
For more inquiries about our Antigen test kits, contact us today or visit our website shop for more information:
Phone: 0917 305 8961 (Manila) / 0917 861 3850 (Pampanga)
Email: info@internationalsps.com
Website: ISPS Antigen Test Kits Web Shop
Sources: