The government is willing to use the saliva-based test for coronavirus disease 2019 which was found to be 99 percent detection rate in the United States.
Palace spokesman Harry Roque said the saliva test was much cheaper compared to transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test.
Roque said it was President Rodrigo Duterte who suggested the use of saliva test after the government-run state insurer, PhilHealht owed the Philippine Red Cross more than P600 million.
In his public address Monday night, Duterte said the saliva-based test would be a good alternative to the RT-PCR test with 99 percent accuracy rate.
Processing time for saliva samples was only three hours compared to the swab tests that can take six to seven hours.
The saliva test recommendation reached the Department of Health for approval as early as November. However, the government has yet to decide on the use of these tests.
Roque expressed hope the cheaper COVID-19 test would also be used in the Philippines once it received approval from health authorities.
“I hope it reaches the Philippines soon. And of course, we’re asking the FDA for speedy evaluation so we can get a cheaper COVID-19 test,” he said.
Meanwhile, Duterte also cautioned airport authorities from skipping health and safety protocols for travelers, warning that unauthorized travel would worsen the risk of contamination.
“There are reports that some people are skipping, they can slip past with the help of airport personnel in ships. I say this now as I have said it before: Do not do it because you’ll be in trouble. he said.
He threatened to dismiss them if they continued their dishonest practice.
Saliva tests
Senator Richard Gordon said the Philippine government was taking too long in studying for possible approval the use of saliva test for COVID-19 detection in the Philippines, "Health Technology Assessment Council did the evaluation…it was submitted October 17 and it was used in other countries. Over one million COVID testing has been done using that, at 99.9 percent accuracy," Gordon, chairman of the Philippine Red Cross, said in a statement.
The HTAC is an independent advisory body which guides the Department of Health and the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) on the coverage of health interventions and technologies to be funded by the government.
He said this COVID-19 saliva test, launched by the University of Illinois, costs only $20 each and yields accurate results within just hours.
Growing evidence
Currently, Nasopharyngeal (NPS) and Oropharyngeal swab (OPS) are the recommended modes of specimen collection for the detection of Severe Acute Respiratory Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the Department of Health (DOH) said in a statement on Tuesday.
However, recently there has been growing evidence on the potential of saliva as an alternative specimen for COVID-19 testing.
The DOH recognizes the potential use of saliva as a specimen for SARS-CoV-2 detection through RT-PCR.
Hence, to be able to establish its effectiveness supported by local evidence, there are two ongoing local studies on its use as an alternative specimen for COVID-19 testing led by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine and the other by Philippine Red Cross, said the DOH.
To date, RITM has yet to conclude its study while PRC has yet to consider the recommendations of the DOH and COVID-19 Laboratory Expert Panel (CLEP) based on its initial results.
COVID updates
The Philippines logged Tuesday 937 new cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) bringing the total to 479,693, as nine laboratories failed to submit their data on time, the Department of Health reported.
“The Department of Health has noted a decrease in the number of cases reported today, at 937 new cases. This is due to a decrease in the number of patients seen in COVID-19 laboratories during the New Year,” said the DOH.
Top cities and provinces with new cases are Davao City, 85; Isabela, 54; Agusan del Sur, 49; Pampanga, 48; and Misamis Occidental, 43.
The DOH also reported that there are 21,997 active cases, which is 4.6 percent of the total number of cases. Of the active cases, 81.4 percent are mild; 8.5 percent are asymptomatic; 6.2 percent are critical; 3.3 percent are severe; and 0.55 percent are moderate.
The DOH also reported that 114 persons recently recovered, bringing the total recoveries to 448,375, which is 93.5 percent of the total cases.
The DOH also reported 58 new fatalities, bringing the death toll to 9,321, which is 1.94 percent of the total cases.
Janssen clinical trial
Meanwhile, the DOH said the Vaccine Expert Panel has identified five sites where clinical trials for Janssen’s candidate COVID-19 vaccine will be held.
The Phase 3 clinical trial of Johnson and Johnson’s pharmaceutical arm was approved last December.
Testing czar Secretary Vince Dizon also said 74 overseas travelers who entered the Philippines as the country tightened restrictions over the new coronavirus variant tested positive for COVID-19.
The Vaccine Expert Panel (VEP) has assigned five sites where the clinical trial of the COVID-19 vaccine from Janssen will be conducted, the Department of Health said Tuesday.
DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the VEP would identify these sites in the next few days.
“Our Vaccine Expert Panel has not yet given the assignment of those who will participate in this trial. But at the sites, they already mentioned,” Vergeire said, in an interview on GMA News’ Unang Balita.
On December 29, the Food and Drug Administration approved the Phase 3 clinical trial application of Janssen COVID-19 vaccine in the country.
FDA Director General Eric Domingo said Janssen’s clinical trials in the Philippines will be beneficial to Filipinos in terms of speeding up regulatory approval if the vaccine turns out to be effective.
Cadets, et al. positive
Some 50 cadets and food handlers at the Philippine Military Academy have tested positive for COVID-19, the Armed Forces said Tuesday.
AFP spokesman Major Gen. Edgard Arevalo said an investigation showed that food handlers brought the coronavirus to the country's premier military academy for Filipinos.
"Based on their investigation, the food handlers were the ones who brought the virus and broke the academy's COVID-19 bubble. That's why we're doubling our efforts,” he said.
All 50 are asymptomatic and have been placed under isolation, he said.
