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Corona quick test from Aldi and Co.: That's how safe the discounter products are

2022-01-14T19:41:10.525Z


Corona quick test from Aldi and Co.: That's how safe the discounter products are Created: 2022-01-14Updated: 2022-01-14, 8:34 p.m By: Jason Blaschke Retail chains such as Aldi, Lidl or dm sell rapid corona tests for self-use. New studies show how good the products are. The number of confirmed infections with the corona variant 'Omicron' is increasing in Germany. According to reports from HEIDE


Corona quick test from Aldi and Co.: That's how safe the discounter products are

Created: 2022-01-14Updated: 2022-01-14, 8:34 p.m

By: Jason Blaschke

Retail chains such as Aldi, Lidl or dm sell rapid corona tests for self-use.

New studies show how good the products are.

The number of confirmed infections with the corona variant 'Omicron' is increasing in Germany. According to reports from HEIDELBERG24*, more than 16,000 cases (as of January 12) have already been confirmed in all of Baden-Württemberg alone - and the trend is rising. In order to get the situation under control, more and more federal states in Germany are tightening the corona protection measures - also in supermarkets and discounters like Aldi*. A new Corona Ordinance* was also issued in Baden-Württemberg, which regulates the obligation to wear a mask and quarantine.

Fear of an 'omicron' wave is growing and experts assume that the corona variant from South Africa will soon be the most dominant virus variant.

The good news is that, according to the latest research, an infection with 'omicron' has a milder course than a delta or alpha infection.

Unfortunately, that also makes it trickier to find people who are unknowingly infected and who may not have any typical corona symptoms* at all.

Corona quick tests from Aldi and Co.: Products do not convince in the test

The quick or self-tests promise some security. Numerous products have been in circulation in Germany since mid-2021 - the large retail chains such as Lidl, Aldi and dm also have rapid corona tests in their range. The only question is: are the products reliable? Can consumers access without hesitation? So much in advance: The rapid corona tests are - as the name suggests - for the quick detection of an infection, but do not replace an exact PCR test.

The rapid corona tests from Aldi, Lidl and Co. are therefore generally less accurate than a PCR test that is examined in the laboratory.

In many cases -- for example, when there are no symptoms or the test is needed for a visit to a restaurant -- rapid tests are a good thing.

At the end of 2021, the Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI) took a closer look at numerous tests in a large study and found that around one in five rapid tests is not suitable for detecting a corona infection.

Corona quick tests: Aldi products achieve top values ​​in the test

According to reports from the

editorial network Germany

(RND), the authority examined a total of 122 Sars-CoV-2 antigen rapid tests in 2021. The most important feature of the investigation was the sensitivity (sensitivity) of the tests. It indicates the extent to which the test can reliably detect the corona virus*. In the study, the PEI set a minimum value of 75 percent, i.e. the percentage probability with which a corona infected person will actually be recognized as infected.

The result of the investigation is sobering: A total of 96 of the tests met the criterion - but 26 rapid corona tests could not convince the experts.

Are there also products from Aldi or Lidl?

The bad news first: There are no results for some products.

The good news: all three rapid corona tests – which are sold by Aldi in Germany – achieve peak values ​​in terms of sensitivity.

According to

RND

, the investigation had revealed the following:

  • Aldi Süd und Nord: Novel Coronavirus 2019-nCoV Antigen Test (Colloidal Gold) from Beijing Hotgen Biotech Co., Ltd.:

    100 percent sensitivity

  • Aldi Süd und Nord: ARS-CoV-2 Ag Diagnostic Test Kit (Colloidal Gold) from Shenzhen Watmind Medical Co., Ltd.: 

    100 percent sensitivity

  • Aldi Nord: Wondfo SARS-CoV-2 antigen test (lateral flow method) from Guangzhou Wondfo Biotech Co. Ltd.: 

    88.2 percent sensitivity

    (only available in Aldi Nord branches)

Corona quick tests from Aldi: The discounter is currently offering the product

When asked by HEIDELBERG24*, a spokeswoman for Aldi said that currently (as of January 13) only the rapid corona test from "Hotgen nasal swab test" is in the range.

According to the PEI study, the Hotgen rapid test also has a sensitivity of 100 percent.

Aldi currently sells the product for 1.75 euros per piece.

The Aldi spokeswoman assured that the availability of the self-tests was basically guaranteed.

The availability of the self-tests is fundamentally secured.

Press officer, Aldi Süd

But: “Due to peaks in demand, it can occasionally happen that the quick tests are temporarily out of stock in some places.” Aldi therefore asks customers to buy the corona self-tests – like all other products from the range – only in normal household quantities.

The demand situation is regularly checked by Aldi.

In the past, there had always been bottlenecks due to the high demand.

Corona quick tests: This is how the products from Aldi, Lidl and Co work.

According to RND

, the rapid corona tests from Lidl, dm and Rossmann also

achieved good results in the review. Only two products from the drugstore chain dm have no information on their sensitivity. Otherwise, all corona tests – which are commercially available in Germany – achieve sensitivity values ​​​​of more than 80 percent. Many products even shine with a sensitivity of 100 percent. So are the tests from Aldi, Lidl and Co. almost as good as a PCR test?

Despite good sensitivity values, the rapid corona tests simply cannot keep up with the accuracy of a PCR test.

One reason is that the test result depends on the viral load of the person tested.

If this amount of virus is too low, the test will show a negative result.

Samples from PCR tests are artificially multiplied in the laboratory and can therefore detect an infection with Covid-19 even with a very low viral load.

Tests from Aldi, Lidl and Co. are therefore not intended for diagnostic purposes.

Corona quick tests: New study shows – these products are convincing

In the article just linked, HEIDELBERG24* summarizes which rapid corona tests are of good quality* and can also detect an infection with the new omicron variant.

Incidentally, the new mutation should not be underestimated.

Because: A new study recently showed that even a slight infection with 'omicron' can cause organ damage*.

The corona vaccination offers protection against this.

In a service article on the booster vaccination ,

echo24.de

* writes which booster vaccination actually protects against ' Omicron'*.

*

HEIDELBERG24 and echo24.de are part of IPPEN.MEDIA.

Source: merkur

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