KUCHING, March 18: If prices of face masks can be lowered, why not do the same for RT-PCR tests, questioned Bintulu MP Dato Sri Tiong King Sing in objecting to the Ministry of Health’s (MOH) move to reduce reliance on the more accurate diagnostic test for Covid-19 in favour of antigen rapid (RTK-Ag) testing among the public.
Tiong emphasised that MOH must review the high cost of reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests for the public, which is crucial as it is more accurate and could identify the CT (cycle threshold) value or viral load and contagiousness in positive cases.
“Why is the RT-PCR test cost in Malaysia so high? In China, for example, the local RT-PCR test there costs RMB40 (slightly more than RM30), and the price could be even lower if bought in bulk.
“As the price of (face) masks can be reduced over time, why can’t the price of RT-PCR also be reduced, which is critical to people’s lives (especially low-income patients)?” he said in a statement posted on his social media yesterday.
Tiong, who is also Dudong assemblyman, pointed out that MOH should instead encourage people to do self-testing at home with antigen rapid test kits. Then, if detected positive, they should go to a hospital or clinic to get an RT-PCR test to determine their CT value.
“Through the CT value, the authorities will have a better idea of categorising the patient and arranging for admission to hospital for treatment and observation, or just to give medical advice,” he said.
He added that this measure is important, given the high number of Covid-19 related fatalities in Malaysia daily, with 95 deaths reported on March 15, 92 on March 14, 87 on March 13, and 77 on March 12.
“The number of brought-in-dead (BID) cases is also in the two-digit range, which shows that the fatality of the virus still cannot be underestimated. This data does not even explain whether the deaths occurred at home or on the way to the hospital because complaints say that those who died at home were mostly brought in by their family members.
“The current practice of the MOH can best be described as putting the cart before the horse,” he said in response to the MOH winding-up speech in Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, in a short video posted on his Twitter yesterday, said that Malaysians must reduce reliance on RT-PCR tests and shift towards RTK-Ag testing as the country enters the transitional phase into endemicity.
According to various national news reports, he reasoned that RT-PCR tests are more costly and, although more sensitive, it takes a longer time to generate results.
In contrast, he explained that the RTK-Ag self-test kits are cheaper and more readily available while producing results in 15 minutes.
In the current situation, with the highly infectious Omicron variant in the community, Khairy said that the RTK-Ag tests are more effective as it reduces the waiting time to identify positive cases.
“So, it is better for 1,000 people tested with RTK-Antigen than ten people who undergo RT-PCR testing,” he added. — DayakDaily
