Hiqa advises against widespread use of Covid-19 antigen testing

Antigen tests are less expensive and provide faster results than standard polymerase chain reaction PCR tests used for detecting Covid-19, but Irish health officials have expressed hesitancy about their use outside of specific circumstances. 

Widespread use of antigen testing for Covid-19 should only be an additional measure to help curb the spread of the virus, and not a replacement for other proven mitigation measures, the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) has said. 

In its latest advice submitted to the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) this morning, Hiqa said that there remained "uncertainty regarding the effectiveness of rapid antigen testing for screening of asymptomatic individuals with the aim of limiting transmission of SARS-CoV-2."