Why block this virus test?

The rapid IgM-IgG combined antibody test for Covid-19 has been used by the Chinese Centre for Disease Control to combat infections. As soon as a person’s immune system responds to an infection this test will pick it up.

Why would SA’s Medicines Control Council want to block access to this test, which can be self-administered easily and is low cost? I have not seen any evidence that the test is not accurate. Even if it is not 100% accurate, it could be sold with a disclaimer that a negative result does not preclude the possibility of an infection and people experiencing symptoms should go for testing at a lab or hospital even if the test is negative.

The government and public pressure should not allow the Medicines Control Council, which as an example of its overreach has made it compulsory to get a prescription for a harmless vitamin B injection, to block something so potentially vital in the fight against this virus.

It took US President Donald Trump’s personal intervention to get the Food & Drug Administration to rapidly approve as an emergency measure hydroxychloroquine, which has been shown in China to be a significant weapon against the virus, without the usual drawn-out process of double blind clinical trials and other bureaucratic delays.

I hope our president will take his cue from this and intervene to prevent the council from blocking or delaying Covid-19 tests and cures that have been shown to work in other parts of the world. Jeremy Gordon

Sea Point