As per data provided by the State Health Department, Maharashtra is currently conducting up to 31 per cent of the COVID-19 tests using the rapid antigen method that can offer a result within 30 minutes. However, results are considered to be less reliable as compared to an RT-PCR test which requires a lab with at least level 2 biosafety and can take up to 8 hours to produce a result.
The primary concern with relying too heavily on rapid antigen tests for COVID-19 is that it is known to have a higher likelihood of returning a false positive which makes it somewhat unreliable while testing the population en masse.
Since March and until September 7, the state has conducted a total of 4,705,932 tests with 1,458,827 of them being rapid antigen tests. Some digging by Hindustan Times has further revealed that the state conducts up to 45,000 to 50,000 rapid antigen tests on average each day while only approximately 25,000 tests are done via the RT-PCR method.
On September 2, a total of 72,248 tests were conducted with 46,961 of them reportedly being rapid antigen tests. Around 5 per cent were TrueNat tests (mostly used for tuberculosis) while the rest of the tests were conducted using the RT-PCR procedure. This goes to show that the health department does seem to favour the faster test.
However, State Surveillance Officer, Dr. Pradeep Awate said otherwise. “We are not overdoing rapid antigen tests in the state. We are focussing on 50:50 ratio for antigen tests and RT-PCR. In fact, if any person with symptoms tests negative in the state, we run a second confirmatory test under RT-PCR. The false-negative reports are not even 1%,” he said.
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The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) guidelines mention that rapid antigen testing kits have a sensitivity of 50.6 per cent to 84 per cent, which in plain terms is the average percentage of accurate results. This basically means that there’s a high chance of obtaining a false positive with rapid antigen testing.
Data has revealed that Mumbai, Pune, Thane, Aurangabad, Nashik, Nagpur and Solapur districts are currently performing the highest antigen tests among its population while also spending over ₹1 crore each day.
Maharashtra currently has a total of 156 government-accredited COVID-19 testing labs. However, the time aspect makes rapid antigen tests much more feasible in certain scenarios. Additionally, the ICMR has approved three new brands of antigen testing kits namely SD Biosensor, LabCare Diagnostics, and Coris Bioconcept. While private hospitals can acquire these testing kits from approved vendors, the State Health Department can get it via the Union Health Department.
Also read - BMC Conducts Antigen Tests On Hawkers And Shopkeepers
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