CORONAVIRUS — RAPID ANTIGEN TESTS
365. Hon MARTIN ALDRIDGE to the Leader of the House
representing the Premier:
I refer to the procurement and
supply of rapid antigen tests by the state government.
(1) How many tests have been
ordered?
(2) How many tests have been
received?
(3) How many tests have been
distributed from the central stores of the government?
(4) Is the government aware of concerns relating to
the inaccuracy of rapid antigen tests, and has the government received
any formal advice in this regard?
Hon SUE
ELLERY replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1) There have been 110.7 million
rapid antigen tests ordered by the government.
(2) There have been 97 million RATs
received to date.
(3) There have
been 32.3 million RATs distributed to support their use in the health system by
households and for vulnerable people as at 10 May 2022.
(4) Distribution
of RATs by the government has been conducted in line with health advice on the
use of RATs. The RATs approved for use by the Therapeutic Goods Administration
must have a sensitivity of 80 per cent or
above, with many having sensitivities of 90 to 95 per cent when used in
symptomatic people. Although RATs are
considered to be slightly less accurate than PCR tests, this is balanced by the
increasing accessibility for the wider population to an easy, quick and
comparatively inexpensive testing approach.