COVISHELF

Subject: Science & tech

Context: Recently, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has approved the MylabCoviself for home use.

Concept:

It is the country’s first Covid-19 self-testing kit.
It implies that anyone can collect their own nasal sample and test it for SARS-CoV-2.
It has been developed by MyLab Discovery Solutions, a Pune-based molecular company.
It uses a rapid antigen test, in which a nasal swab sample is tested for the virus and gives results within 15 minutes.

Significance of self-test kits

The RT-PCR test, considered the gold standard for Covid-19 testing, takes 3-4 days to give results, delaying hospitalisation and treatment.
The self-test kits can potentially be a game-changer in Covid-19 management in India.
It can cut queues in laboratories, reduce costs, and dissipate the burden on existing manpower for sample collection from homes.
It provide quick results (within 15 minutes), leading to prompt treatment and isolation.
The easy-to-use test combines with MyLab’s AI-powered mobile app so that a user can know his/her positive status, submit the result to ICMR directly for traceability, and know what to do next in either result.