National Health Security Office (NHSO) has partnered with Public Health Ministry and Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO) to distribute 8.5 million COVID-19 antigen test kits (ATK) to hospitals and pharmacies across Thailand.
 


          The distribution follows the NHSO board's approval of the test kits' procurement on August 4. 
Dr Kornchakoch Limsommut from the Public Health Ministry's Office of the Permanent Secretary said that ATK would be distributed to every province within a week after the NHSO obtained the test kits. 
 
          Each province will receive at least 40,000 units of ATK by the end of September. However, some provinces will get more units if they have a larger local population and higher prevalence of the coronavirus. 
 
          Around 1.5 million units will be reserved for emergency situations, such as the detection of new clusters, that require the quick dispatch of the test kits to affected areas. 
 

          Dr Kriddhiya Sriprasert, a senior advisor for the NHSO, said that the ATK procurement was proceeded by the GPO while the NHSO provided the funding. 
 
          When the test kits are in the GPO's hand, its staff will send them to provincial public health offices and Bangkok's Health Department, which will then pass ATK to local hospitals and pharmacies.
 
          When handing ATKs to users, health workers must verify their authentication codes and provide instructions to the users. The NHSO will cover 10 baht per test kit to offset health workers' times in assisting users to conduct the tests.
 
          "If they get positive results, they should go into home isolation or community isolation. However, they will require to have RT-PCR tests if they want to join the community isolation program," said Dr Kriddhiya.
 
          "If their RT-PCR test results are negative, they should follow health workers' guidance and retest under the Public Health Ministry's guideline."
 

          The NHSO will involve local pharmacies and private clinics in the ATK distribution plan, added Secretary-General Dr Jadej Thammatach-aree. 
 
          His organization has established strong networks with pharmacies and private clinics which have participated in the NHSO's previous programs, including medicine home delivery and the COVID-19 home isolation program.
 
          "We are planning to engage pharmacists at local drug stores by asking them to provide advice to people with ATK's positive tests. The pharmacists can alert local hospitals or give the instruction on how the patients can isolate at home," he said. 
 
           "The NHSO will work with the Public Health Ministry and the GPO to distribute ATK to high-risk populations. We will assess the situation at the end of September and conclude if we purchase more ATK.
 

          Rungpetch Sakulbamrungsil, the GPO's representative, suggested that the NHSO display the list of local pharmacies, their locations, and contacts on its website or mobile application.
This will allow people to reach out to the pharmacists for advice on using ATK and performing home isolation. 
 
          The pharmacists can arrange online consultants for the COVID-19 patients who may need support under home isolation.
 
          In addition, the NHSO will procure 27 million tablets of anti-viral Favipiravir to assure the availability of the drug for coronavirus patients.