Everything you need to know about the COVID-19 self-test: use home tests responsibly

Just one day after the Ministry of Health (Minsa) confirmed that pharmacies were authorized to market the autotest or self-diagnostic tests of the COVID-19These products were out of stock online and were very difficult to find in physical stores, even though they cost over S / 200.

“In the coming days the consolidation of this offer will have greater emphasis. However, these self-tests, compared to the antigen and PCR tests used by laboratories and health professionals, are much cheaper ”, points to Trade Ángela Flores, executive director of the National Association of Pharmaceutical Laboratories (Alafarpe).

In this regard, Carla Sifuentes, director of the National Association of Pharmacy Chains (Anacab), asked the General Directorate of Medicines (Digemid), through a statement, the authorization of more laboratories and manufacturers for the import of self-tests, to meet the great demand of the population.

This union ensures that, after the requested facilities, the price of self-diagnostic tests of the COVID-19 It could range between S / 20 and S / 45.

Are the Covid-19 self-tests reliable?

As it is not a health professional who takes the test, for many the possibility of obtaining wrong results in the self-test could be high. However, Roche – the laboratory that manufactures one of the tests that is marketed in Peru – does not consider it that way.

“The probability of error in this self-test is extremely low. . As the figure is closer to 100, the possibility of error is less. Ours is a test that today can be bought in pharmacies and can be performed by the person, following the instructions, with complete confidence “, explains Dr. Carlos Ruiz, Andean medical manager at Roche Diagnóstica.

Even so, the representatives of Anacab and Alafarpe agreed on the need for an education campaign not only to provide guidance on the proper use of these tests,

For this reason, Alexis Holguín, general director of the General Directorate of Strategic Public Health Interventions of the Minsa, recalled that this type of self-test should be done, if the person has symptoms of the COVID-19, 72 hours after contact with whoever may have caused the contagion.

Types of evidence

• detect the genetic material of the virus in the patient. They need to be processed in a laboratory.
• detect virus proteins. They do not require a laboratory. They should be done in the first days of the illness.
• detect the antibodies generated by the body to defend against infection.