Covid rapid antigen tests: how do they work, and can Australians rely on them?

From Monday, Australians will be able to self-test for Covid. We examine how accurate home tests are compared with PCR tests

From Monday, Australians can buy rapid antigen Covid-19 tests at retail stores including supermarkets and pharmacies, and also online. Previously, only health professionals were able to administer them. Australia’s drugs regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), has so far approved nine different home rapid antigen tests for sale.

They cost roughly $30 for a packet of two, and between $50 and $100 for five, depending on the retailer and brand. They have a shelf life of about two years.

Continue reading...

Coronavirus | The Guardian

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ministers accused of sowing confusion over England’s travel advice

Government criticised for sending out mixed messages about traffic-light system for foreign travel Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage Ministers have been accused of sowing confusion over what foreign travel is permitted for people in England after sending out mixed messages relating to its traffic light system. On Wednesday, the education minister Gillian Keegan urged people to be “sensible” and not travel to “amber list” countries for holidays, but her comments followed differing advice the day before. Continue reading... Coronavirus | The Guardian
Read more

VAT: from Covid tests to child car seats, there are calls to ‘scrap the tax’

The ‘tampon tax’ was the most high-profile campaign but now, with 20% on coronavirus kits, others are gaining pace The start of 2021 brought with it the end of the “tampon tax”. After years of campaigning , the government finally accepted the argument that sanitary products are an essential product, not a luxury, and should be treated as such for VAT purposes. Now, as with most food and children’s clothing, they attract a zero rate of tax. The tampon tax campaign was the loudest relating to VAT rates in recent memory but it’s certainly not the only one. Continue reading... Coronavirus | The Guardian
Read more

I’ve already had two Covid jabs, but they don’t count in the UK

I was injected with Sinovac in Chile and travel a lot, but here I am not regarded as fully vaccinated I am a British citizen who has had two doses of the Sinovac Covid vaccine while living in Chile, but it is not recognised by the UK government. My job requires me to travel often. As I’m not regarded as fully vaccinated, I am obliged to pay £136 for two Covid tests each time I return to the UK, quarantine for 10 days (the test-to-release scheme isn’t available in Wales where I live), and am barred from certain events. The NHS is only able to give me one dose of the Pfizer vaccine as I have already had two Sinovac jabs. MP, Wales Sinovac is manufactured in China and was validated for emergency use in June by the WHO. However, neither the UK nor the European Medicines Agency has yet approved it, although nine Schengen area countries have. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) told me it’s working to determine which of the international vaccines not currently licensed by the ...
Read more