Use saliva tests to raise testing capacity, DOH urged

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Richard Gordon, chair of the Philippine Red Cross (PRC), on Sunday urged the Department of Health (DOH) to administer saliva tests to increase the testing capacity in the country. “My advice for DOH, it is better to use saliva tests instead of the self-administered antigen test kits,” he said during the weekly radio show of Vice President Leni Robredo. The DOH earlier recommended to the Food and Drug Administration the approval of home antigen test kits. Gordon said that saliva tests were cheaper than the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test. “RT-PCR is still better, but a saliva test is the cheaper option. I will push for that in the provinces,” he said. The PRC’s saliva COVID-19 test costs P1,500 while the RT-PCR test costs about P2,800.

—Nestor Corrales