Health Canada silent on COVID-19 home tests as other countries push forward
2021-05-12 from cbc.ca
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last week proudly announced a partnership with the Ontario government to provide more rapid COVID-19 tests for employees in key businesses, but it's still unclear at this time whether federal health officials believe there's a place for tests that can be obtained by all Canadians on pharmacy shelves and used at home.
Such home COVID-19 tests are part of the pandemic policy push in several countries — including Britain, Germany and the United States — as governments try to foresee what life will look like in a society where more people re-engage but not all are vaccinated.
"It's definitely not too late to do the right thing," said Dr. Kevin Schwartz, an infectious diseases physician at St. Joseph's Health Centre in Toronto who co-authored an article recently on the utility of easy-to-use rapid tests.
Advocates say there's a place for self-administered tests to screen for infection even as vaccinations progress. No single vaccine is 100 per cent effective, some people can't or won't get a vaccine and COVID-19 boosters could be needed as immunity wears off.
Schwartz said he believes there will still be a need for "public health measures that control the virus and allow us to open up safely" and stay open.
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