Antigen tests are also done with swabs in the nose.

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TAUSEEF MUSTAFA / AFP

They guarantee a result in less than 30 minutes.

Antigenic tests for the detection of the coronavirus were approved on Friday by the High Authority for Health (HAS), which said it was "in favor" of their use, especially during targeted screening.

"The goal is to be able to test more people and more quickly", in order to be able to determine "very quickly if we are faced with a focus of infection", explained Dominique Le Guludec, president of the College of HAS, at an online press conference.

Like the RT-PCR virological tests, the sample for an antigen test is taken from the nostrils using a swab (a kind of long cotton swab).

A response to excessively long delays

But unlike RT-PCRs, antigen tests do not require laboratory analysis because their mechanism is simpler.

The former detect the genetic material of the coronavirus, while the latter identify virus proteins.

This allows them to give a result much faster, in 10 to 30 minutes.

Faced with the current delays to perform an RT-PCR test and obtain the test result, the HAS considers that the antigenic tests would make it possible to meet an “unmet need”.

The authority is therefore "in favor of the use of antigen detection tests to carry out large-scale screening actions within targeted populations (university, staff of collective accommodation, etc.)".

Frail people tested twice

Two weeks ago, the HAS had already recommended their use in the case of people with symptoms suggestive of Covid-19, when it is not possible to obtain an RT-PCR test within 48 hours.

This Friday, she said that in this case, the test should be carried out within four days of the onset of symptoms, because then the probability of detecting the virus declines.

In addition, in people at risk of developing a severe form of the disease (elderly, diabetic, obese, etc.), a negative antigen test must be confirmed by an RT-PCR test, in order to be sure not to miss an infection.

On the other hand, for the moment, the HAS does not recommend the use of antigenic tests for asymptomatic people outside targeted screening operations, and in particular for people who have been in contact with a confirmed case, because of "the lack of available clinical data ”.

This position "will be reassessed quickly" when such data becomes available, said the health authority.

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