KUALA LUMPUR – A PAS lawmaker today urged the government to stop advising the public to conduct Covid-19 saliva self-tests if the accuracy of their results are questionable.
Datuk Che Abdullah Mat Nawi (Tumpat-PAS) argued that it will be financially wasteful for users to conduct tests using the RTK-Ag kits if the results are often inaccurate.
Speaking in Parliament, he said that he personally saw that a self-test kit is unreliable compared to a RT-PCR test.
“I experienced it for myself. I had symptoms for three days, and took the saliva test every morning and evening, but they all gave me negative results,” he said in a supplementary question to Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi today.
“Finally, when I took the PCR test, I was confirmed positive. This is such a waste (of money) for consumers.”
The minister acknowledged that PCR tests are more accurate, opposed to saliva tests, but said he lacked the medical expertise to provide a detailed answer.
“If the saliva test is inaccurate, then it is better that the ministry advise the public not to use it. It’s pointless if it is inaccurate.”
Separately, Nanta said the government is currently studying the need to lower the ceiling prices of self-test kits as well as introduce a price cap on other medical devices such as oximeters and thermometers.
At the moment, the retail ceiling price of self-test kits is set at RM19 while the wholesale price is capped at RM16.
He added that the government sees no need to revise the ceiling price for masks as they are currently sold below the cap of 7 sen per single-ply unit, 20 sen per double-ply unit and 70 sen per triple-ply unit.
Earlier, Nanta said his ministry and the Medical Device Authority (MDA) under the Health Ministry are consistently monitoring to ensure the best quality of self-test kits are in the market.
He added that to date, MDA had already conducted eight raids and 10 seizures on companies that were illegally distributing testing kits.
“This is proof that MDA is carrying out its duty with the ministry to ensure the kits are of good quality,” he said, responding to Cha Kee Chin (Rasah-PH) on the action taken by the government to guarantee the reliability and authenticity of the kits. – The Vibes, March 10, 2022
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