Action star Robin Padilla and his staff on Monday, May 24, in the absence of a registered nurse, conducted swab tests on themselves.
In an Instagram post, Padilla shared how he and his team personally administered an Abbott antigen test for them to start their work.
The actor, on his IG post, explained that the lack of a healthcare worker should not hinder their desire to do their job. He also gave instructions on how to conduct swab tests.
“6 ng umaga mag umpisa na kami ng trabaho pero wala pa ang nurse.
“Hindi dahilan sa mga mandaragat ang walang nurse, kailangan isagawa ang Covid test, basta isaksak mo ang swab stick hanggang sa dulo at makiliti mo ang utak mo, at kapag naluha kana tsaka mo iikot ng 5 hanggang 8 segundo ‘yun na raw ‘yun.
Abbot antigen test courtesy of pareng Kiko,” wrote Padilla.
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Although there were no negative comments on Padilla’s post and the fact that this is common in other countries such as the United Kingdom and the US, the Philippines has not yet approved any self-administered test kits for Covid-19.
On April 4, 2021, testing czar Vince Dizon announced that medical experts do not advise the use of self-swabbing COVID-19 test kits for it will only lead to a false sense of security.
“Hindi ina-advise ng ating mga eksperto itong mga self-swabbing kits. Dahil unang-una, hindi tayo siguardo sa accuracy ng mga tests na ito, hindi pa ito nava-validate ng ating Food and Drug Administration (FDA) at regulatory bodies gaya ng RITM (Research Institute for Tropical Medicine),” he said during an interview with CNN Philippines.
Moreover, The Department of Health (DOH) reiterated that the FDA has not yet approved any self-administered test kits.
Furthermore, the DOH released guidelines for the usage of antigen test kits. It stated that these tests are only used for diagnostic testings of close contacts where an outbreak has been confirmed.
