The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Wednesday approved the self-use Rapid Antigen Test for Covid-19 developed by Mylab Discovery Solutions. The test is developed in India and is named as CoviSelf.
The self-use test can be used by symptomatic individuals and immediate contacts of confirmed cases as per ICMR guidelines. Users of this test will not need sample collection by a healthcare professional, an official statement issued today has said. Advising against the indiscriminate use of the kits, ICMR has reiterated that all symptomatic individuals who test negative by RAT should get themselves immediately tested by RTPCR
Each kit will be provided with all testing materials, instructions to use (IFU) leaflet, and a biohazard bag to safely dispose of it after testing. The test is designed to be done using a nasal swab (not the deep nasopharyngeal swab) to reduce the discomfort. CoviSelf will provide results in 15 min. Those who test negative and continue to experience COVID-like symptoms should seek follow-up care from their healthcare provider.
The test is priced at Rs 250 and the company will start shipping out tests within a few days.
“This is the biggest crisis our country has ever faced. CoviSelf will help in saving lives. For India, we will make millions of kits available at fraction of the cost of such kits in the US,” Hasmukh Rawal, Managing Director of Mylab Discovery Solutions said.
“This easy-to-use test combines with Myab’s AI-powered mobile app so that a user can know his/her positive status, submit the result to ICMR directly for traceability, and know what to do next in either case of result. We are sure this small step will be a big leap in mitigating the second and subsequent waves, ” said Sujit Jain, Director at Mylab Discovery Solutions.