THE Covid -19 test kits developed by the University of the Philippines-National institutes of Health (UP-NIH) has been recalled due to a “minor” defect, the Department of Health (DOH) said on Wednesday.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) saw a deficiency in the locally-made Covid-19 GenAmplify™ Covid-19 rRT PCR Detection test kits. The test kits developed by UP -NIH are also PCR tests and not rapid tests.
“All the UP test kits have been recalled,” Vergeire said during the DOH virtual media forum, adding that RITM noticed a minor defect.
However, Vergeire stressed that the UP-NIH is now in the “final stages” of correcting the deficiency. “And hopefully next week RITM [can validate it again],” Vergeire said in a mix of English and Filipino. She declined to disclose the detected minor defect, though.
The UP-NIH test kits were distributed to the DOH-accredited laboratories across the country.
Enough test kits
Meanwhile, Vergeire assured the public that there are “enough” test kits in the country.
“Our test kits are enough. What are in short supply are the reagents and other things that go with them,” Vergeire said.
A lack of logistics for the laboratories, Vergeire said, is also being experienced by other countries. She described the mad scramble for Covid-related items as an “international competition”.
“But as for our test kits, we are sufficient for our needs. But what we are having problem with are those logistics for our laboratories,” she stressed.
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