January 14, 2021|CTV News via UVic News
Although there are a number of researchers that are concerned about the effectiveness of self-administered rapid tests, there is still a push to distribute them to ensure Canada is staying on top of frequent testing.
“Health Canada has authorized the sale and importation of COVID-19 tests only for use by health care professionals or trained operators,” Health Canada wrote on its website. “However, we are open to reviewing all testing solutions. This includes approaches that use self-testing kits, to enable individuals with or without symptoms to assess and monitor their own infection status.”
Alexandre Brolo, a chemistry professor at the University of Victoria and acting chair of the department, told CTV News that he’s currently working with a team on the development of two rapid testing products. He reports that one will be an “at-home” test and should be commercialized in April if all goes well. The Copyright and Scholarly Communications Office encourages you to explore more of Dr. Brolo’s important work by visiting UVic’s institutional repository, UVicSpace.
