Serological TEST and antigenic swabs. These are the two tests that can be performed at the pharmacy to check if you have contracted the coronavirus in the past or if you are positive at the time of the test. The Italian regions started with different times and methods: in some you can do both for a few months (in Lazio they are available from December), in others it is starting in recent weeks (this is the case of Lombardy), in some it still has to be organized (Sicily). The price also varies: on average both serological and antigenic cost 20-30 euros and are paid by the citizen, but in some regions (such as Abruzzo, Emilia-Romagna, Umbria and the autonomous provinces of Trento and Bolzano) and for some categories (for example students and teaching and non-teaching staff) are borne by the health system.
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According to the latest update provided by Federfarma, serological tests in pharmacies can be done in Abruzzo, Emilia-Romagna, Lazio, Marche, Piedmont, Umbria, the autonomous province of Bolzano and Sardinia. The antigenic pad, on the other hand, is available in Campania, Emilia-Romagna, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Lazio, Lombardy, Marche, Piedmont, the autonomous province of Treno and Bolzano, Puglia, Umbria, Veneto and Sardinia. In some cases there are limitations: in Abruzzo and Umbria, for example, the tests are aimed only at students up to the age of 18-19 and their family members or cohabitants, while in Sardinia they are sold in pharmacies and then must be carried out by the doctor. family or pediatrician.
Serological test
The serological test detects the presence of anti-coronavirus antibodies in the blood and allows you to understand if you have come into contact with Sars-Cov-2. “This test is not able to tell if a person is infected at the time of the test, but only if he has contracted the virus before and if, for this reason, he has developed antibodies,” he explains. Roberto Tobia, national secretary Federfarma. The serology available in the pharmacy is not carried out with a blood sample, but only with a droplet taken from the finger. It is qualitative, that is, it measures the presence of antibodies in the body, not their quantity and type (IgG or IgM), as does the quantitative serological test that is generally performed in hospitals through blood sampling. The waiting time also changes: the qualitative one in the pharmacy provides a result within 15 minutes, the quantitative one after a couple of days “.
“The detection of antibodies through the serological test may indicate an infection that is now dated, perhaps months ago, or recent, a few days earlier, and which, therefore, may still be in progress” underlines the expert. “Therefore, if a person tests positive for the serological test, the pharmacy sends him to the competent health authority of the area to do a molecular test and have the definitive diagnosis”. The molecular swab, which detects the coronavirus genome (RNA), is considered the safest test to detect an ongoing Covid-19 infection.
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The quick antigenic swab
The other test available at the pharmacy is the rapid antigen. It is performed through a nasal or nasoloro-pharyngeal swab and is useful because in a short time it is able to tell if a subject is positive or negative for the coronavirus. “Unlike the molecular, which confirms the presence of the infection by looking for the RNA of the virus, the antigenic detects its proteins, ie the antigens present on the surface” specifies the national secretary Federfarma. “Again the result arrives after about 15 minutes: the swab is placed in a test tube containing liquid, the drops of which are poured onto a support similar to that used for pregnancy tests. If antigens are found, the test warn the pharmacist with a red band “.
They are reliable tests, so much so that today the antigenic positives performed in pharmacies are part of the daily count of infections drawn up by the civil protection and the Ministry of Health. “However – concludes the expert – they can generate false positives and therefore also in this case, as happens for serological, those who are positive are sent by the pharmacy to the competent health authority for definitive confirmation of positivity with a molecular test”.
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