Antigenic tests are now available in the majority of French pharmacies. These tests allow a faster result than PCR tests and can be performed in pharmacies.
Who performs the antigen tests?
” I signed the decree which allows pharmacists, town doctors, liberal nurses, to buy, to equip themselves, to carry out these tests. From next week they should do it “Confirmed the Minister of Health Olivier Veran. According to the National Order of Pharmacists, only “ a pharmacist [formé] can perform these tests in the dispensary for individual screenings “. These free tests do not require laboratory analysis, resulting in a quick result, between 10 and 30 minutes.
Less reliable and efficient than PCR tests, these tests are therefore not recommended for people over 65 and / or who have risk factors. The antigen test is intended for patients with symptoms, but also for asymptomatic people, to allow them to have a reliable positive result. In the event of a negative test, asymptomatic patients are advised to retest if in doubt. ” The more contagious you are, the more your sensitivity increases. It will be 93 to 95% if we test at the beginning of the disease, with symptoms. Of course, we will miss some cases, but they will be the least contagious »Indicated Professor Jean-Michel Pawlotsky, virologist and head of the biology center at Mondor.
How is the test going?
The test is quick and simple: a cotton swab will be inserted into each nostril and then soaked in a chemical reagent, which will destroy the virus by releasing its constituents, in particular specific proteins. If these proteins are present, they will interact with antibodies, meaning the person has Covid-19. The drops, deposited on the blister, will then reveal the result after a few minutes, as for the pregnancy test where a bar means ” negative “And two bars” positive “.
