President Rodrigo Duterte said he is in favor of using saliva tests to detect COVID-19

President Rodrigo Duterte is in favor of using saliva tests to detect COVID-19, because he feels uncomfortable every time he undergoes swab testing, which involves probing the nasal cavity.
Saliva test results deemed are said to be 99 percent reliable compared to the invasive RT-PCR or reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction test .
“I couldn’t help cursing every time my nasal cavity is probed because it hurts. I have to open my mouth wide. Gordon said saliva swabbing is 99 percent reliable, so we should use that,” Duterte said during his Talk to the Nation on Monday night.

Validation result for saliva-based Covid-19 test out soon
January 5, 2021
MANILA – The validation result for saliva-based Covid-19 testing might be out this or next week, National Task Force Against Covid-19 deputy chief implementer Vivencio Dizon said in a Palace briefing Tuesday. Dizon, who is also the testing czar, said the validation for saliva-based… Read More

Gordon eyes reduced Covid-19 testing cost with saliva test
January 5, 2021
MANILA – Senator Richard J. Gordon, chair and CEO of the Philippine Red Cross (PRC), eyes reducing the cost of Covid-19 testing using an alternative system – the saliva test that is faster and 99.9 percent reliable.Gordon said they are hoping that the Health Technology Assessment Council… Read More

Palace says saliva-based Covid-19 test ‘good alternative’
January 5, 2021
MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte has expressed openness on the use of the saliva-based test for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) which recently garnered a 99 percent detection rate in the United States.Citing the Philippine Red Cross (PRC), Duterte said the saliva-based test would be a… Read More

Palace welcomes 99% success rate of saliva Covid-19 test
January 4, 2021
MANILA – Malacañang on Monday welcomed reports that a saliva-based test for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) has garnered a 99 percent detection rate in the United States.Philippine Red Cross (PCR) biomolecular laboratories head and former Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial said the… Read More

PRC working to make Covid-19 tests affordable: Gordon
October 6, 2020, 7:32 pm
MANILA – The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) on Tuesday said it is working to make Covid-19 testing in the country affordable and inexpensive for Filipinos.During a Laging Handa public briefing aired over state-run PTV-4, Senator Richard Gordon, chairperson and chief executive officer of PRC, said… Read More