Antigenic screening tests for Covid-19 by nasal swab to do yourself and without a prescription have just been approved by the Haute Autorité de Santé (HAS).
They are already in circulation in several European countries, such as Germany or Portugal for example.
These self-tests have the advantage of being “less invasive” and “better tolerated” than those by nasopharyngeal swab because they are less deep, recalled at a press conference Cedric Carbonneil, head of the evaluation service for professional acts ( SEAP) to the Haute Autorité de santé.
In an opinion delivered on Tuesday, it recommends their use in two circumstances "in asymptomatic people over 15 years".
The first use is understood in the context of use "restricted to the private sphere", upstream of a visit to relatives for example, to protect them from possible contamination.
As has been done a lot this winter at the time, family reunion during the end of the year celebrations.
The antigen test should in this case "ideally be carried out on the day of the meeting", or "failing that the day before".
On the other hand, the use of self-tests could also be part of a medical context, during targeted screening on a large scale, as an alternative to rapid antigenic tests carried out by professionals.
"The choice between these two test modes depends on the mode of organization of the screening and on the willingness and ability of people to perform themselves the tests of people to be screened" specifies the HAS.
A positive test should be confirmed by a conventional PCR test
Whatever the case, any positive self-test will have to be the subject of a conventional PCR test, in particular to identify if the contamination is linked to a variant, insists the HAS.
Indeed, their effectiveness in real conditions has not yet been demonstrated and they "are less sensitive than PCR tests", recalled the president of HAS, Dominique Le Guludec.
For the moment, it is not yet known whether these self-tests will be on sale in pharmacies but also in supermarkets, as in Germany.
It will be up to the ministry to decide on the basis of the opinions of the National Medicines Safety Agency, indicates the HAS.
This "recommends" their reimbursement for medical uses, said Dominique Le Guludec.