WINNIPEG -- Manitoba health officials said on Monday the province isn’t using a rapid COVID-19 test that has been recalled as part of the province’s testing strategy.
Spartan Bioscience, an Ottawa biotech company, is voluntarily recalling the tests after Health Canada expressed concerns over their effectiveness.
The company said the government’s concerns are regarding the test’s proprietary swab, but that the Health Canada report didn’t raise concerns about the accuracy of test reagents and portable analyzer device.
Dr. Brent Roussin, Manitoba’s chief provincial public health officer, said when the province first had the test, it was for research purposes.
“That’s why these things need to be validated and right now there were some reports of underperformance and so we don’t have a large number of Spartans right now,” he said.
“I don’t have any details on the order that we have, but certainly at this time it won’t be part of our testing strategy until better results are available.”
A NEW MEDICATION
When asked if Manitoba uses or will use Remdesivir, an experimental drug that’s been studied in the United States to see if it could shorten COVID-19 recovery time, Roussin said it’s still in the early stages of research and it’s not an approved medication.
“It’s really early, so we’re not using it, certainly not in routine practice and I don’t think there’s anyone here involved in a trial,” he said.
“But it’s really early on so certainly there’s optimism with these kinds of medications, but will have to wait for more evidence to show its effectiveness.”
- With files from the Canadian Press.
