Health Authorities: "If Rapid Antigen Test False Positive Rate Decreases, Prescribe Oral Antiviral Treatment Upon 'Positive'"

Current False Positive Rate 30-50%, Inappropriate for Now

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young]The quarantine authorities announced on the 10th that if the false positive rate of COVID-19 rapid antigen tests decreases in the future, oral antiviral drugs will be prescribed based solely on a 'positive' result from the rapid antigen test.

Im Sook-young, head of the Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH) situation team, said at the regular briefing that "Currently, even if the rapid antigen test is positive, a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test is conducted once more," adding, "We are reviewing whether oral antiviral drug Paxlovid can be prescribed based solely on a positive rapid antigen test result without a PCR test."

She explained, "Rapid antigen tests have the problem of false positives, and so far, the false positive rate is about 30 to 50%," adding, "With this level of accuracy, prescribing Paxlovid could lead to unnecessary medication for those who are not actually positive, so it is currently considered inappropriate."

She added, "However, if the false positive rate decreases to a certain extent in the future, measures will be changed to allow Paxlovid to be prescribed based solely on the rapid antigen test."

Paxlovid is known to reduce the risk of hospitalization or death in confirmed patients by about 88%. In foreign countries where confirmed cases surged explosively due to the spread of the Omicron variant, oral antiviral drugs were sometimes prescribed based on positive rapid antigen test results to prevent a sharp increase in severe cases.