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Published on: Monday, January 25, 2021
By: GMA News
Saliva testing is a faster, easier, and cheaper alternative to the swab test.
MANILA: The Department of Health has approved the use of saliva as alternative specimen in Covid-19 tests in Philippine Red Cross laboratories, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said.
In a public briefing, Vergeire said the DOH allowed the PRC laboratories to conduct saliva testing after the humanitarian group presented the results its study on Wednesday.
Vergeire, however, noted that DOH will wait for the validation test results from the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) before allowing saliva test in other laboratories in the country.
IMUS CITY, Cavite Jan. 25 (PIA) In preparation for the arrival of the COVID-19 vaccine, Mayor Emmanuel L. Maliksi met with the local COVID-19 Task Force to discuss the protocols for the city s vaccination program, in accordance with the guidelines established by the Department of Health (DOH).
Mayor Maliksi said the vaccine that will be provided by the national government will depend on the assessment and result of the 3rd phase of the clinical trials conducted for specific vaccines, among other parameters used for the choice of COVID-19 vaccines to be purchased by the national government.
Maliksi said that in December, the national government had talks with the drug manufacturer Pfizer-BioNTech which was the only vaccine issued an Emergency Use Authority (EUA) while the Tripartite Agreement of the League of Cities in the Philippines preferred the cost efficient vaccine from AstraZeneca.
January 26, 2021 THE newly-inaugurated Police Regional Office (PRO)-Davao Covid-19 Molecular Laboratory is expected to help in Davao Region s testing needs.
On January 18, 2021, Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Debold Sinas conducted a command visit at PRO-Davao in Catitipan, where he led the formal inauguration of the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) molecular laboratory.
This is the fourth molecular lab of the PNP in the country and the first in Mindanao.
In a press conference, Sinas said he will leave the operation of the lab to PRO-Davao, which will also decide as to who can avail of their testing service.
PRO-Davao Director Filmore Escobal said their medical technologists are still training at the University of the Philippines-Mindanao (UP-Min) Genome Center and they are still waiting for them to graduate before they can formally operate.
endIndex:
(CNN Philippines, January 24) After securing the green light from the government, the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) will begin conducting saliva testing for COVID-19 on Monday, January 25.
PRC biomolecular laboratories chief Paulyn Ubial told CNN Philippines Newsroom Weekend the organization can start accommodating individuals who want to be tested for the virus using their saliva.
For its initial rollout, the PRC has designated its Logistics and Multi-Purpose Center in Mandaluyong and its laboratory in Port Area in Manila as saliva testing facilities.
Ubial said the booking for the saliva testing as well as the payment would be done online.
While the cost for a saliva test is ₱2,000, PRC Chairman and Senator Richard Gordon said the price may decrease if more people would avail the test.