Gordon: Saliva test will still use RT-PCR technology

The saliva test for the detection of COVID-19 will still use the same Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technology that is being used for the swab test, Senator Richard Gordon said Wednesday.

"You're not replacing the RT-PCR, you're still using the RT-PCR. Saliva lang ang nabago... hindi na nakakasuya na papasukin ang lalamunan mo o kaya 'yung ilong," Gordon said in an interview on ANC.

The senator, who also chairs the Philippine Red Cross, said the organization's RT-PCR laboratories will still be used in processing samples for saliva tests.

"We use the RT-PCR, we cannot do without it. It goes through the RT-PCR," he said.

"I'm not gonna let go of the RT-PCR in the first place. It's compatible with the saliva test and besides I can use it for all kinds of testing like leukemia or cancer," he added.

On Tuesday, the humanitarian organization announced that it would conduct COVID-19 tests using saliva among 1,000 health workers in the country in compliance with the Department of Health’s requirements for the full approval of the new testing method.

Within a day, the Philippine Red Cross was able to test around 600, according to Gordon.

"Tomorrow or today, we'll finish the 1,000 and submit it to the DOH and it will be evaluated," he said. — BM, GMA News