They should be on sale this week, in pharmacies and supermarkets, according to the director general of health Jérôme Salomon.
- Self-tests, hitherto banned in France, could be available this week
- These will be antigenic tests capable of identifying the antigens produced against the virus
- Two problems remain to be resolved: the level of reliability of these tests and the tracing of positive cases.
It will probably soon be possible to test yourself for Covid-19. Asked by BFM TV, Sunday March 14, the Director General of Health, Jérôme Salomon, said that self-tests should be available this week in pharmacies and supermarkets. But before being put on the shelves, the tests will have to be approved by the High Authority for Health, whose opinion is expected in the coming days.
How it works ?
These tests will be antigenic, that is to say capable of identifying the antigens produced by the immune system against the virus, while the PCR test directly detects the presence of SARS-CoV-2. The sample for the self-test will be taken through the nose, as for the other tests currently available, except that it will suffice to rub a cotton swab inside the nostrils, and no longer at the bottom of the nose. Then the cotton swab will need to be placed in a special solution, allowing the presence of antigens to be detected in less than half an hour. According to the existing models, the results are obtained either thanks to a strip on which the reagent is deposited, or via an application.
How effective are self-tests?
“We cannot authorize tests that would give false negatives, or false positivessaid Jérôme Salomon. It is therefore necessary to be certain that these tests are reliable and then that the French can have confirmation of the test. The opinion of the High Authority for Health will depend precisely on the effectiveness of the self-tests. According to France Info, the HAS requires a sensitivity equal to or greater than 80% to approve a test. However, a German study, carried out by the Robert Koch Institute and relayed by The voice of the North, estimates that self-tests have an average efficiency of 71.7%. If the HAS validates their use on the territory, this could allow 100% coverage of these devices by Health Insurance.
How will the tracing ?
The High Authority for Health must also take decisions regarding the tracing. Today, if a person tests positive, Health Insurance health investigators draw up a list of contact cases with them, with whom they then contact. These people are also invited to be tested and to isolate themselves. The health authorities must think of solutions so that the Health Insurance can know the results of the self-tests in order to establish the list of contact cases. “The question is how then we trigger the ‘Test-alert-protect’ system to follow up on the person and make sure that Health Insurance has the contact tracing system, because if we no longer warns your contacts, it’s a real problem“, alerted the director of health. According to the data he communicated, 60 million tests have already been carried out in France.
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