The collegiate board of Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency) meets this Wednesday afternoon (19) to discuss the release of Covid-19 self-tests in the country. The session is scheduled for 15:00.
THE authorization request of the use of self-tests was made by the Ministry of Health and presented to the agency last week. The request for the folder comes at a time when Brazil is seeing a growing demand for rapid tests in the health care network, especially due to the expansion of the Ômicron variant across the country.
Therefore, the stock of Covid-19 detection tests has been running out in some capitals. Given this scenario, the Ministry of Health says that releasing self-tests can relieve health services and expand testing opportunities for people suspected of having the disease.
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“Self-testing is an additional strategy to prevent and interrupt the chain of transmission of Covid-19, along with vaccination, mask use and social distancing. Self-tests can be carried out at home or anywhere, they are easy to use and produce quick results”, highlights the folder in the technical note sent to Anvisa to ask for the approval of its own exams against Covid-19.
The self-test under analysis is the antigen, the result of which is revealed in less than an hour. The request of the Ministry of Health is that the exams can be sold in pharmacies and drugstores. “The use of self-test can be an excellent screening strategy, because due to the short time for the result, the isolation of positive cases can be quickly started and actions to interrupt the transmission chain”, emphasizes the ministry.
By determination of Anvisa, in Brazil the sale of antigen tests to be done at home is not allowed. Only pharmacies perform the procedure. With a sensitivity considered high, the exam is performed by collecting material from the nose with a cotton swab or saliva. The self-test, however, has a lower sensitivity than other tests (such as PCR) and is subject to error by the untrained patient.
The collegiate board of Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency) meets this Wednesday afternoon (19) to discuss the release of Covid-19 self-tests in the country. The session is scheduled for 15:00.
THE authorization request of the use of self-tests was made by the Ministry of Health and presented to the agency last week. The request for the folder comes at a time when Brazil is seeing a growing demand for rapid tests in the health care network, especially due to the expansion of the Ômicron variant across the country.
Therefore, the stock of Covid-19 detection tests has been running out in some capitals. Given this scenario, the Ministry of Health says that releasing self-tests can relieve health services and expand testing opportunities for people suspected of having the disease.
Read more:
“Self-testing is an additional strategy to prevent and interrupt the chain of transmission of Covid-19, along with vaccination, mask use and social distancing. Self-tests can be carried out at home or anywhere, they are easy to use and produce quick results”, highlights the folder in the technical note sent to Anvisa to ask for the approval of its own exams against Covid-19.
The self-test under analysis is the antigen, the result of which is revealed in less than an hour. The request of the Ministry of Health is that the exams can be sold in pharmacies and drugstores. “The use of self-test can be an excellent screening strategy, because due to the short time for the result, the isolation of positive cases can be quickly started and actions to interrupt the transmission chain”, emphasizes the ministry.
By determination of Anvisa, in Brazil the sale of antigen tests to be done at home is not allowed. Only pharmacies perform the procedure. With a sensitivity considered high, the exam is performed by collecting material from the nose with a cotton swab or saliva. The self-test, however, has a lower sensitivity than other tests (such as PCR) and is subject to error by the untrained patient.
