Senator Gordon denied receiving DOH recommendation for further study on saliva COVID-19 test
Senator Richard Gordon on Tuesday said that the Department of Health (DOH) didn’t send any recommendation to the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) regarding its application for the use of the saliva COVID-19 test.
In an online interview, Philippine Red Cross chairperson Senator Gordon told reporters that he denied and rejected what Health Undersecretary Vergeire said.
Senator Gordon also said that the DOH never sent a letter to them on November 25 and the Philippine Red Cross has not received any formal recommendation from the Department of Health.
READ ALSO: PH Government Yet To Decide On Use Of Cheaper Saliva COVID-19 Tests, Says PRC
In a report on GMA News Online, DOH Usec. Maria Rosario Vergeire on Monday said that the use of the saliva COVID-19 test as an alternative to the Reverse Transcription – Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test needed further study.
Vergeire also said that the Department of Health sent its recommendations to the Philippine Red Cross last November which include conducting a further study on saliva COVID-19 test, increasing the number of participants in its trial, and securing approval for a saliva COVID-19 testing kit from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Meanwhile, President Rodrigo Duterte said that the Philippines should use it, citing information from Senator Gordon that its results were 99% accurate.
“I would like to thank the President, I’m sure he wasn’t joking [when he said na] kung efffective ‘yan gamitin natin,” Senator Gordon said.
READ ALSO: PhilHealth Should Pay PHP 500-M Debt To PRC ‘Right Away’, Says Senator Gordon
Private sector initiative Project ARK and testing czar Secretary Vince Dizon had likewise vouched for breath and saliva testing for COVID-19.
Moreover, Senator Gordon said that using cheaper saliva COVID-19 tests would help decrease PhilHealth’s arrears in shouldering COVID-19 tests in the Philippines.
The debt of the state health insurer to the Philippine Red Cross for still unpaid COVID-19 tests had accumulated to PHP 823.7 million, according to the senator.
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