The introduction of self-testing kits for COVID-19 could lead to a situation where the virus is misdiagnosed, with false negatives resulting in people unwittingly spreading the virus to the detriment of the most vulnerable, officials of the Chamber of Pharmacists and the nurses union have warned.
"We all know that it can be quite uncomfortable to do a COVID-19 swab test, so can you imagine how many people will handle self-testing incorrectly?" Paul Pace, president of the MUMN nurses union asked.
The go-ahead for self-testing kits was announced by Health Minister Chris Fearne on Monday morning, taking healthcare professionals such as the Chamber of Phamaracists by surprise.
Chamber president Mary Ann Sant Fournier said the chamber, community pharmacists, and COVID-19 testing centers were all unaware of the decision until it was announced on the media.
“The chamber strongly objects to this change in a stance which, against the backdrop of a significant spike in COVID-19 cases in Malta, deregulates the testing and reporting process,” she told Times of Malta.
COVID-19 cases have spiked in recent weeks, with the number of known active cases now at 7,188.
Health Ministry officials explained that a legal notice later this week will set out the standard of self-testing kits including importation distribution and use. Free swabbing centers will remain open.
But Sant-Fournier warned that self-testing kits risked causing the further spread of the disease among vulnerable patients, increasing the risk of hospitalisation and mortality, and also exposing health care professionals to unnecessary risks.
She said the chamber is urging the health ministry and the public health authorities to reconsider, in the best interest of health, especially the most vulnerable, and frontliners, such as pharmacists.
"Ignorance of the number of positive cases in the community will inevitably lead to decision-making by the authorities without a basis of real-world data and doubtful self-regulation by the public,” she said.
Pace said the health authorities should learn from other countries' mistakes.
"The UK has had self-testing kits for ages, and their cases have also increased drastically," he said. He feared that while some people may do the test incorrectly for fear of hurting themselves, others, such as those going abroad would not ruin their holiday.
The president of the Medical Association of Malta, Martin Balzan, said many European countries were currently removing COVID-19 restrictions only because they are being driven by economic necessity.
"That means that to boost their economies, they are putting vulnerable or unvaccinated people at risk," he told Times of Malta.
"Given the sudden surge in cases, we would have preferred to have waited a couple more weeks before announcing the use of self-testing kits, but as I said earlier, this is a trend we are seeing all across Europe."