The biomedical research body has identified seven premier tertiary care hospitals across the country to initiate the trials.
The Indian Council of Medical and Research (ICMR) initiated a programme of clinical trials for Rapid Antigen Detection Assays for COVID-19 patients. The decision was taken in the light of the recent surge in COVID-19 cases.
The procedure is said to help in keeping track of the increasing number of COVID-19 patients and provide easy access for detecting patients on a large scale within a short span of time.
The biomedical research body has identified seven premier tertiary care hospitals across the country to initiate the trials. PGIMER has been selected as one of the seven hospitals.
PGIMER Director, Professor Jagat Ram said, “The availability of antigen-based detection tests is limited across the world. Most such tests have relatively moderate sensitivity but high specificity. The test is a promising tool to keep a track of COVID-19 patients by rapid testing.”
About the execution plan, the Director said, “A committee will be constituted to work out the modalities and a comprehensive plan along with the timelines to meet the expectations of ICMR and to contribute towards containing the pandemic.”