Thread by @kakape

“Last week we reached an important milestone in which, @WHO issued the first Emergency Use Listing for a quality antigen based rapid diagnostic test, and we expect other rapid tests to follow. ”, says @DrTedros at #covid19 presser.

@WHO @DrTedros Good news: 120 million of these tests will be made available to low- and middle-income countries, to "enable the expansion of testing, particularly in hard to reach areas that do not have lab facilities or enough trained health workers to carry out PCR tests”, says @DrTedros.

@WHO @DrTedros These tests are cheaper ("priced at a maximum of 5 US dollars per unit”) and faster (15-30 minutes) than PCR, says @DrTedros. "The quicker #COVID19 can be diagnosed, the quicker action can be taken to treat and isolate those with a virus and trace their contacts."

@WHO @DrTedros (Side note: @DrTedros also gave a shout-out to @c_drosten’s lab in his opening remarks. "Working with our partner lab in Germany, Charité University, we published the first instructions on how to build a validated #COVID19 PCR test.")

@WHO @DrTedros @c_drosten “This is a big step towards more equitable allocation of diagnostics”, says @PeterASands. "Right now, high income countries are conducting 292 tests per day, per 100,000 people”
upper middle-income countries: 77
lower middle-income countries: 61
low-income countries: 14

@WHO @DrTedros @c_drosten @PeterASands "They're not a silver bullet”, says @PeterASands of rapid diagnostic tests, "but hugely valuable as a complement to PCR tests, since although they're a bit less accurate, they're much faster, cheaper, and don't require a lab."

@WHO @DrTedros @c_drosten @PeterASands Just over 50 million tests conducted in Africa, says @JNkengasong. “not because the continent doesn't know how to test. It's essentially because the current tools that we have, do not enable us to fulfil those four criteria that is easy to use, affordable, scalable and reliable."

@WHO @DrTedros @c_drosten @PeterASands @JNkengasong Volume guarantee agreements have been signed between Gates Foundation and two rapid diagnostic test producers (Abbott and SD Biosensors) "to make 120 million tests available at $5 dollars for low, middle income countries over a period of six months”, says @BoehmeCatharina.

@WHO @DrTedros @c_drosten @PeterASands @JNkengasong @BoehmeCatharina Three areas in particular where rapid tests will be helpful, says @mvankerkhove:
1. "respond to suspected outbreaks in remote settings or institutions or semi-closed communities where we don't have access to PCR”
2. speedy cluster investigations
3. monitor high-risk populations

@WHO @DrTedros @c_drosten @PeterASands @JNkengasong @BoehmeCatharina @mvankerkhove Q about deaths being wrongly attributed to #covid19
“When you count anything, you never count it perfectly, but I can assure you that the current numbers are likely an underestimate of the true toll of COVID”, says @DrMikeRyan