WHO issues COVID testing advice, long after critics' call
The World Health Organization says it has issued guidance advising people on how to test themselves for the coronavirus, months after critics said the lack of recommendations was compromising efforts to stop the pandemic in poor countries
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The World Health Organization says it has issued guidance advising people on how to test themselves for the coronavirus, months after critics said the lack of recommendations was compromising efforts to stop the pandemic in poor countries.
At a press briefing on Wednesday, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the agency was concerned that some countries are dramatically reducing their COVID-19 testing as the virus appears to recede in some parts of the world. According to WHO figures, COVID-19 cases and deaths have both fallen significantly in recent weeks.
“Self-testing remains a vital tool in our fight against COVID as part of a comprehensive strategy,” Tedros said, adding that abandoning testing would cripple officials' efforts to track the disease.
Some activists have long decried the lack of WHO guidance for self-testing as a major obstacle for poor countries, noting that donors are unwilling to buy them in the absence of any WHO recommendations. While people in numerous rich countries have had easy access to rapid tests for months, the self-testing kits have rarely been available in poor countries, hampering attempts to slow the pandemic.
Numerous health officials have repeatedly pleaded with WHO to issue self-testing advice for that reason.
Tedros said the new recommendation for self-testing would hopefully address the inequity in testing.
“We hope that our new guidelines will also help to increase access to testing, which is too expensive for many low income countries where these tools could play an important role in expanding testing,” he said.
Unlike the massive effort to buy and distribute COVID-19 vaccines fairly, there have been few efforts to scale up mass testing in poor countries. Even with the release of the WHO's guidance this week, some experts estimate it could take until 2023 for self-testing kits to be widely available in the developing world.
___
Follow AP coverage of the pandemic at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic