Duterte wants COVID-19 saliva test

MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte is in favor of using saliva tests to detect COVID-19, with the results deemed to be 99  percent reliable compared to the invasive RT-PCR or reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction test.

Duterte said he feels uncomfortable every time he undergoes swab testing, which involves probing the nasal cavity.

“I couldn’t help cursing every time my nasal cavity is probed because it hurts. I have to open my mouth wide. Gordon said saliva swabbing is 99 percent reliable, so we should use that,” Duterte said during his Talk to the Nation on Monday night.

Duterte was referring to Sen. Richard Gordon’s statement that the Health Technology Assessment Council will recommend to the Department of Health (DOH) the use of saliva tests to detect COVID-19, which is being eyed by the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) as another option to reduce the cost of testing.

Gordon, who heads the PRC, said the same machines used for the RT-PCR testing would also be used without the need for the nasal and pharyngeal swab test kits.

Meanwhile, COVID-19 testing czar Sec. Vince Dizon said the application for the use of saliva tests has been submitted to concerned regulatory agencies.

“There is an ongoing validation, but now that the President mentioned it, there is a need to speed up the validation. I hope the regulatory and validation agencies under the Department of Health will fast-track the guidelines so we can use the saliva test,” Dizon said.

Dizon agrees with Duterte that it is not easy to be subjected to swabbing, which has been a mandatory requirement among Cabinet officials attending meetings with the Chief Executive.

He expressed hope the application to allow the saliva tests for COVID-19 detection would be approved by next week.

Dizon announced yesterday that the guidelines for pooled testing have been released by the DOH.

The DOH guidelines allow the use of pool testing on groups or areas with low incidence of potential COVID-19 infection.

It said specimen pooling strategies are recognized as an “opportunity for greater COVID-19 testing efficiency by reducing turnaround time and saving on supplies.”

The agency provided guidelines based on the pooling protocols set by the Philippine Society of Pathologists Inc. and  Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM).

Based on DOH Memorandum 2020-0539 dated Nov. 23, 2020, pool screening has been recognized as a strategy to reduce the cost of screening a large number of individuals for infectious diseases.

The DOH said samples from multiple individuals are combined or “pooled” and tested collectively. Select targeted samples are then tested individually to determine if there is a positive result in the group.

“Strategic testing, along with aggressive contact tracing and isolation, is crucial to an effective COVID-19 response,” the agency said.

Under the memorandum, pool testing will be used for screening and surveillance in “low prevalence population or settings for individuals who are asymptomatic and have no past history of exposure to confirmed patients.”

The procedure should not be used for people who have symptoms, have recovered from the disease and become asymptomatic and those who have been exposed to a positive case in the past 14 days.

Pooled testing will be done by DOH-licensed COVID-19 testing facilities using RT-PCR test machines authorized by the Food and Drug Administration and validated by RITM or RITM-authorized institutions.

The memorandum said pooled testing would only be used for screening population groups such as inbound international travelers, balikbayans, overseas Filipino workers and foreigners and interzonal domestic travelers, including returning residents.

Those eligible for the testing are workers in health facilities, frontline government workers, such as the police, military and quarantine officers.

Also covered are factory workers, market vendors, call center agents, transportation workers and others in workplace settings.

For pricing and reimbursement, the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. will develop the “appropriate payment plan and provide engagement mechanisms for pooled testing.”  –  Sheila Crisostomo