Over 12,000 COVID test samples are backlogs — DOH

A total of 12,208 samples are now considered “backlogs” because the processing in various laboratories has been delayed, the Department of Health (DOH) said yesterday.

DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire explained that the “newly opened laboratories have big contributions to these backlogs because they got overwhelmed when the samples were sent to them.”

This is aside from the shortage in laboratory supplies needed in processing the samples, which contributes to cause of delay. She clarified, though, that other countries are also experiencing such shortage.

Vergeire said these laboratories would have to limit the specimens they will accept to be able to finish all of their backlogs.

As of July 8, the country has 59 licensed laboratories for reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests and 21 laboratories for GeneXpert tests. The “average turnaround time” for COVID-testing using RT-PCR is around 50 hours and 24 to 48 hours for GeneXpert.

To address the situation, Vergeire said the DOH already identified the “zones” for each local government unit and hospital to guide them on which laboratory to bring the samples they collected.

“Through this, we see if a laboratory is having problems like backlogs and then we can get the help of other laboratories nearby. They will then share the burden of these tests that are being processed,” she added.

Meanwhile, the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) has approved for use by laboratories the new RT-PCR tests made by the University of the Philippines-National Institutes of Health (UP-NIH).

“We are now helping them (UP-NIH) so the tests can be used by selected laboratories in the Philippines. We will just give the final advisory to the laboratories and they can start using them,” Vergeire noted.

In May, the Food and Drug Administration recalled the UP-NIH’s test kits after finding “minor defects” in the re-agents used in them. While the test kits were accurate, about 30 percent of the tests were reportedly incapable of showing if the sample is positive or not.

According to Vergeire, the DOH sent a letter to the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), which funded the development of the test kits.

“We informed the DOST that the tests were already issued special certification by the FDA. We just have to make sure that the laboratories will follow the instructions before they can use that,” she added.

She maintained that laboratory personnel would also have to undergo training because they are new test kits.

Aside from this, the new kits will also have to undergo proficiency tests before they can be used.