IATA urges governments to accept rapid antigen tests
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is urging governments to accept best-in-class rapid antigen tests in fulfilment of Covid-19 testing requirements following the publication of new research by OXERA and Edge Health
The OXERA-Edge Health report, commissioned by IATA, found that antigen tests are:
- Accurate: the best antigen tests provide broadly comparable results to PCR tests in accurately identifying infected travellers. The BinaxNOW antigen test, for example, misses just one positive case in 1,000 travellers (based on an infection rate of one per cent among travellers). And it has similarly comparable performance to PCR tests in levels of false negatives.
- Convenient: processing times for antigen tests are 100 times faster than for PCR testing.
- Cost-efficient: antigen tests are, on average, 60-per-cent cheaper than PCR tests.
Travellers will need convenient and affordable tests
“Restarting international aviation will energise the economic recovery from Covid-19. Along with vaccines, testing will play a critical role in giving governments the confidence to re-open their borders to travellers. For governments, the top priority is accuracy. But travellers will also need tests to be convenient and affordable. The OXERA-Edge Health report tells us that the best-in-class antigen tests can tick all these boxes. It’s important for governments to consider these findings as they make plans for a re-start,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO.