COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Tests to be available for purchase next week

[snoop1130]

 

Thailand’s National Communicable Disease Committee (NCDC) is expected to allow people to purchase Rapid Antigen Test kits (ATK), to self-test for COVID-19 at home. They are expected to be available from pharmacies next week, according to the Public Health Ministry today (Monday).

 

Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul announced that the NCDC has already approved the use of the kits in 300 hospitals, that provide verified RT-PCR tests. 24 brands of the ATKs have been approved by Thailand’s Food and Drug Administration.

 

The Disease Control Department will assign provincial communicable disease committees to set the guidelines for their use, before the ATKs can be purchased by the public, according to Permanent Secretary of the Public Health Ministry Dr. Kiattiphum Wongrachit, adding that the ministry is speeding up proactive screening in Bangkok, where the ATKs will be used extensively.

 

Full Story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/covid-19-rapid-antigen-tests-to-be-available-for-purchase-next-week/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2021-07-12

 

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[ThailandRyan]

Nice, so just like checking my blood sugars on my meter daily I can do my own testing, or for a woman, much like doing a home pregnancy test.  Surely the instructions will be in more than just the Thai Language....asking for my friends Malinois.

[grandpa]

Surely they will come with instructions, why the big fuss, it's not rocket science! In England they have been able to get two kits a week, free, for months!  My adult children, all front liners, one a teacher, one a doctor and one an NHS Hospital matron are required to test twice a week for work.  They have all had double jabs of AZ or Pfizer! Takes a few minutes to do once you get used to it.

[ThailandRyan]

2 minutes ago, grandpa said:

Surely they will come with instructions, why the big fuss, it's not rocket science! In England they have been able to get two kits a week, free, for months!  My adult children, all front liners, one a teacher, one a doctor and one an NHS Hospital matron are required to test twice a week for work.  They have all had double jabs of AZ or Pfizer! Takes a few minutes to do once you get used to it.

Sure you just use the swab included, wipe it around in a nostril and then insert back into the test kit.  Not rocket science as yu say, and again explained in detail on the Channel 32 talk show on now.

[nightfox]

Wonder what the cost will be?

[johng]

4 minutes ago, nightfox said:

Wonder what the cost will be?

Wonder what happens to all those DNA samples ????

[ThailandRyan]

8 minutes ago, nightfox said:

Wonder what the cost will be?

supposedly between 300 and 400 baht for each test.

[kotsak]

32 minutes ago, johng said:

Wonder what happens to all those DNA samples ????

[rabas]

1 hour ago, johng said:

Wonder what happens to all those DNA samples ????

Do you mean COVID samples?

 

[Scott]

Off-topic, troll posts reported and removed.

 

[smedly]

what does this achieve exactly ?

 

so you buy one of these kits and test positive but have no symptoms 

 

1. The positive test is not recorded so therefore virus spread is still unknown

2. The person who tests positive will never present to a hospital unless they are sick.

 

This achieves nothing in the fight against the pandemic - if anything they are handing over government resposibilities to individuals 

 

I would rather have access to test kits that tell me if I have already had the virus

[placeholder]

8 minutes ago, smedly said:

what does this achieve exactly ?

 

so you buy one of these kits and test positive but have no symptoms 

 

1. The positive test is not recorded so therefore virus spread is still unknown

2. The person who tests positive will never present to a hospital unless they are sick.

 

This achieves nothing in the fight against the pandemic - if anything they are handing over government resposibilities to individuals 

 

I would rather have access to test kits that tell me if I have already had the virus

Let's say you don't feel well, and you do test positive. Then at the very least you'll know enough to keep yourself isolated. This is especially useful now because the Delta variant more often presents with cold-like symptoms than do previous variants.

[rbkk]

Quote...

"The committee did not approve allowing people to carry out Covid-19 testing at home, as had been widely expected. Rapid antigen test kits are still allowed for health professional use only."

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2147511/sinovac-dumped-as-second-dose-vaccine-in-favour-of-astrazeneca

[wensiensheng]

Able to purchase them next week? They haven’t even set up the provincial committees to discuss the guidelines yet! Next month will be a good result.

 

The Disease Control Department will assign provincial communicable disease committees to set the guidelines for their use, before the ATKs can be purchased by the public,

[wensiensheng]

20 minutes ago, smedly said:

what does this achieve exactly ?

 

so you buy one of these kits and test positive but have no symptoms 

 

1. The positive test is not recorded so therefore virus spread is still unknown

2. The person who tests positive will never present to a hospital unless they are sick.

 

This achieves nothing in the fight against the pandemic - if anything they are handing over government resposibilities to individuals 

 

I would rather have access to test kits that tell me if I have already had the virus

I think it tells us that there won’t be much test and trace going on. If people test themselves as positive, they will isolate at home and keep quiet.

[wensiensheng]

9 minutes ago, rbkk said:

Quote...

"The committee did not approve allowing people to carry out Covid-19 testing at home, as had been widely expected. Rapid antigen test kits are still allowed for health professional use only."

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2147511/sinovac-dumped-as-second-dose-vaccine-in-favour-of-astrazeneca

Ahh, the usual clarity in most government announcements I see. Wizzo.

[Trip Hop]

34 minutes ago, smedly said:

what does this achieve exactly ?

 

so you buy one of these kits and test positive but have no symptoms 

 

1. The positive test is not recorded so therefore virus spread is still unknown

2. The person who tests positive will never present to a hospital unless they are sick.

 

This achieves nothing in the fight against the pandemic - if anything they are handing over government resposibilities to individuals 

 

I would rather have access to test kits that tell me if I have already had the virus

In simple terms it tells whether someone is positive, possibly infectious and whether they should take the necessary responsible steps to make sure that they don’t infect others, i.e. it helps slow down the transmission and growth of the virus. 
 

What does an antibody test do? Just tells you that you’ve had the virus and could still get it again!

[jojothai]

4 hours ago, grandpa said:

Surely they will come with instructions, why the big fuss, it's not rocket science! In England they have been able to get two kits a week, free, for months!  My adult children, all front liners, one a teacher, one a doctor and one an NHS Hospital matron are required to test twice a week for work.  They have all had double jabs of AZ or Pfizer! Takes a few minutes to do once you get used to it.

Yes, takes a few minutes to do when you get the hang of it.

Some people have a problem doing the swab in the mouth or nose and need somebody else to help.
With the UK kits there is 30 minutes wait for the test result to show.

[dinsdale]

Interesting indeed. False negatives. False positives. Where do you get them. What happens if you show positive. 90% accurate (guessing this is an average) means for 1 out of ten people it will not be accurate. Why isn't it free. Can afford to buy subs to protect your citizens but not this. I also wonder whose pockets the money for these tests will end up in. Rotten to the core this lot but this is not unique. TIT. 

[dinsdale]

Does anyone know where these test kits are made. China perhaps? 

[Trip Hop]

21 minutes ago, dinsdale said:

Does anyone know where these test kits are made. China perhaps? 

Several manufacturers in various countries produce them but not sure on what ones have been approved by the Thai authorities? Does anyone know of where this information can be found?

 

Innova are Chinese made brain ticklers which recently received a damning report from the FDA in the US. Accuracy is dependent on manufacturer but I know  there are a few good ones that have recently been approved in the UK & EU. 

[dinsdale]

1 minute ago, Trip Hop said:

Several manufacturers in various countries produce them but not sure on what ones have been approved by the Thai authorities? Does anyone know of where this information can be found?

 

Innova are Chinese made brain ticklers which recently received a damning report from the FDA in the US. Accuracy is dependent on manufacturer but I know  there are a few good ones that have recently been approved in the UK & EU. 

If money doesn't slip into pockets here it will not be approaved e.g. lets make the approval process  for mRNA vaccs as long as possible so we can order millions of more sinovac. The only transparency in this whole pandemic affair is govt corruption and cover ups.

[smedly]

1 hour ago, Trip Hop said:

In simple terms

it takes disease control out of official hands and it becomes DIY

 

DIY is great if you are painting a door

[smedly]

2 hours ago, Trip Hop said:

What does an antibody test do? Just tells you that you’ve had the virus and could still get it again!

I do not know if already having had the virus is as good as being vaccinated, I do know that in the UK there are several criteria for so called "vaccine passports" here is what it says 

 

 it will be advised for any “high-risk” venue.

That means nightclubs, gigs, sports and even some crowded city centre pubs will be “encouraged” to ask all punters to show they’ve had either the vaccine, a negative rapid test or a past Covid infection to get in.

 

 

 

The NHS app (which is different to the NHS Covid-19 app) will allow people to show one of three things to enter a venue:

Their double-jabbed at least two weeks ago status;

Evidence of a negative lateral flow test in the last 48 hours; or

Evidence they have antibodies because they tested positive for Covid by PCR less than six months ago.

Edited July 12, 2021 by smedly

[DirtyHarry55]

From what I have heard they are not easy to use having to push that long swab up down nasal passage.
If you do it wrong will you test negative?
 

[Caldera]

About bloody time!

 

[placnx]

12 hours ago, dinsdale said:

Interesting indeed. False negatives. False positives. Where do you get them. What happens if you show positive. 90% accurate (guessing this is an average) means for 1 out of ten people it will not be accurate. Why isn't it free. Can afford to buy subs to protect your citizens but not this. I also wonder whose pockets the money for these tests will end up in. Rotten to the core this lot but this is not unique. TIT. 

Maybe it would be good to retest with a different brand.

 

Since last year a leading epidemiologist from the Harvard School of Public Health, Michael Mina, has been advocating making cheap tests widely available so that people can check for Covid antigens at home. For the developing world he suggested pricing at 1 US$. In the US there are more expensive tests, so impractical to do frequent at-home testing for now.

[placnx]

12 hours ago, dinsdale said:

Does anyone know where these test kits are made. China perhaps? 

Probably.

[Excel]

17 hours ago, nightfox said:

Wonder what the cost will be?

More to the point, what will the availability be ? Perhaps they will only be available to Bangkokians because they did give a damn about the real honest normal people in the provinces whom the Bangkokians have been allowed to spread it to. 

[placeholder]

2 minutes ago, Excel said:

More to the point, what will the availability be ? Perhaps they will only be available to Bangkokians because they did give a damn about the real honest normal people in the provinces whom the Bangkokians have been allowed to spread it to. 

Those 8 million+ evil Bangkokians. Which is why I always douse myself with holy water when I walk its streets.