When countries are shifting to at-home rapid antigen tests for detecting the coronavirus to keep pace with the Omicron’s blistering speed of transmission, the government has stuck to its policy of keeping the self-administered kit available at only healthcare points. At present, the rapid antigen test kits can be found in 545 public and 100 private healthcare points across the country. In 2020, when a nongovernment medical college came up with rapid antigen tests and sought permission for commercial production, the government was totally reluctant and barred the humanitarian group, now we see how shortsighted our policymakers were.
In about 15 minutes, one can find out whether they have been infected with the coronavirus or not using the antigen test kit. Coupled with their rapid results, the self-swab kits have become a vital tool in fast diagnosing infection with the Omicron variant — which causes mild symptoms among vaccinated people that is not too dissimilar from the common flu — and compelling people to isolate immediately. Easy availability of such kits in Bangladesh can help slow the spread of the virus. While the polymerase chain reaction remains the gold standard for detecting the virus, due to the inconvenience and costs involved in getting the test, many tend to avoid getting one and pose the risk of spreading the virus. Britain has used the tests to fight outbreaks since 2020, even before Omicron, and made them freely available, while the US recently said that it planned to make 500 million tests available for free and that Americans could request that tests be sent to their homes.
When the infection rate rises, choosing a rapid antigen testing method is ideal — maybe 80 per cent of the tests will come out to be positive and they can be isolated immediately. If the government really wants to curb the Omicron, the antigen testing kits must be made available everywhere free of cost.
