Apa itu antigen rapid test: Taiwan's rapid increase in confirmed cases is insufficient.

Apa itu antigen rapid test: Taiwan's rapid increase in confirmed cases is insufficient.

The so-called "quick screening" in Germany has two modes, namely the rapid antigen test (Antigen-Schnelltest) and the home rapid screening (Selbsttest). Rapid antigen testing needs to be performed by trained personnel, and the virus antigen protein is detected by collecting nasal or throat samples, and the results can be obtained quickly. After receiving the test, the public can obtain a quick screening certificate, which can be used to enter the store for shopping, go to restaurants, and take public transportation.

Home-based rapid screening, like rapid antigen detection, also detects viral proteins. Its instructions and operation methods are simple and easy to understand, and ordinary people without medical background can easily get started. However, the results of home quick screening cannot be used as a formal proof of quick screening. That is to say, the public cannot directly take the home quick screen showing "one line" as proof and enter the restaurant to dine.

After the introduction of new regulations at the end of last year, some companies require employees to show any one of "vaccine certificate", "recovery certificate" and "quick screening certificate" when entering the company. They do not accept home rapid screening, but only rapid antigen testing.

How much is the German Quick Screen?

Different from the situation in which the rapid screening is in short supply in Taiwan, the supply of rapid screening reagents on the German market is quite sufficient. There are many channels in Germany to obtain rapid home screening reagents, and the general public can buy them at pharmacies, supermarkets or drugstores. The most easily available home quick sieves are nasal quick sieves and "lollipop quick sieves", the latter being slightly more expensive than the former.

"Lollipop Quick Screener" is mainly designed for young children to avoid the discomfort of nasal testing. Its shape is similar to a cotton swab, and it only needs to take a saliva sample in the mouth like a lollipop. The most sold on the market is the quick screen that takes mucus from the nasal cavity.

Taking the common drugstore DM in Germany as an example, the common quick-screening brand Hotgen is 1.95 euros (about NT$60), and the "lollipop quickscreening" is 2.85 euros (about NT$88). The quick-screening reagents from the cheap supermarket chain Lidl vary by brand, and the price is between 1.75 euros and 2.29 euros (about NT$54-70).

Most of the quick sieves commonly found in the market are made in China, and the selling prices in general pharmacies are higher than those in supermarkets and drugstores. Taiwan legislator Gao Jiayu recently issued a document referring to Mr Sanicom's quick screening reagent (saliva quick screening), and the current price on the official website is 1.85 euros (about NT$57.24).

During the epidemic, many companies in Germany provided employees with free home quick screening, and kindergartens and schools also distributed quick screening reagents for parents to test their children at home. German insurance company TK pointed out that according to the "Coronavirus Occupational Safety and Health Regulations", starting from April 20, 2021, German business owners are obliged to provide free new crown tests (PCR or rapid screening) for employees who cannot work from home at least twice a week. ).

In addition to purchasing quick sieves on their own, Germany will set up quick sieving stations in 2021. Not only in clinics or pharmacies, but also in the parking lots or shopping streets of large gardening stores, chain furniture stores and other stores. Serve.

Except for the temporary cancellation of subsidies in October last year, the antigen tests at the quick screening stations are all free to the German public. Under the subsidy of the German government, quick screening stations appeared all over Germany like spring after rain. With the increase in vaccination rates and the relaxation of epidemic prevention policies, the demand for rapid screening stations in Germany has begun to decline sharply.

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How to prevent infection in children?

As the testing institutions in Germany were overloaded during the epidemic, during the severe period of the epidemic, the health authorities once implemented two to three times a week in schools and kindergartens. The class or group is a unit, and the cotton swabs are collected in a test tube for PCR testing. If the positive result is detected, a separate PCR will be performed for the whole class, which greatly reduces the number of PCR tests.

In other words, suppose there are 25 students in a class, if each test is done individually, the testing center needs to do 25 PCRs at a time, but with group testing, only one sample of the whole class needs to be tested, if the collective result in the class is positive , only need to be tested separately. Such an approach can not only reduce the burden of the testing center, but also the PCR results are more accurate than quick screening.

In the past, schools or kindergartens in some areas also required students to be screened at home before going to school. Now, as Germany is gradually moving towards a "coexistence with the virus" model, Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Berlin and other federal states have announced the cancellation of on-campus campuses at the end of April or early May. New crown testing obligations.