DOH not in favor of antigen testing requirement for Eleksyon 2022 candidacy filing

The Department of Health (DOH) on Monday recommended against requiring individuals who will participate in the filing of candidacy papers for the May 2022 elections to take a COVID-19 antigen test.

“We do not recommend the rapid antigen test kits to be used as a screening test for people who will vote or for people who're going to join events,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire told a virtual news conference.

Last month, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) had required candidates for president, vice president, senator, and party-list seats to present a negative RT-PCR or antigen COVID-19 test, taken 24 hours earlier, before the filing of certificates of candidacy (COC) from October 1 to 8.

Comelec personnel receiving the COC or certificate of nomination and acceptance (CONA), security personnel of Comelec, military and police officials as well as media personnel deployed in the COC filing were also required to present a negative test result.

The Health Technology Assessment Council (HTAC), an independent advisory body, recommends rapid antigen tests for these purposes only:

• targeted screening and diagnosis of suspected and probable COVID-19 cases
• testing of patients in the hospital setting where the turnaround time is critical
• targeted screening and diagnosis of suspect and probable cases in presumptive outbreaks where the result of the RT-PCR of one suspect has not yet been released and in settings where RT-PCR is not immediately available or when delayed release of result or prolonged turnaround time is expected (i.e., more than 48 hours)
• local border screening at points of entry for individuals traveling from areas with a high daily positivity rate over a seven-day period
• international border screening at points of entry

The HTAC maintains that the RT-PCR is still the standard diagnostic test for COVID-19.

Vergeire said they would discuss with the Comelec what appropriate testing protocols should be implemented during the COC filing. — DVM, GMA News