Halodoc Provides Antigen Swab Service with Siloam & Roche Hospital

Health startup Halodoc has launched a new Covid-19 test service, the elecsys antigen swab, in collaboration with the Siloam Hospitals Group hospital network and pharmaceutical company Roche. The elecsys antigen swab is claimed to have higher accuracy.

The sensitivity level of the test is 94.5% and the specificity is 99.9% at a CT Value < 30. That way, even lower viral samples will still be accurately detected than ordinary rapid antigens.

Sampling for this test is done through a nasopharyngeal swab or by collecting a sample of fluid from the back of the nose. The results of the elecsys antigen swab describe the conditions at which the sample was taken.

A positive result indicates a high probability of being infected with the coronavirus, while a negative result does not exclude the possibility of being infected with the virus. Assessment of the results obtained by looking at the clinical condition of the patient and the results of other investigations.

Halodoc CEO & Co-Founder Jonathan Sudharta said the Covid-19 test service with the elecsys antigen swab method can now be accessed on the Halodoc application and official website. Meanwhile, the price for the test of this method is Rp. 299,000.

“This can be an alternative to Covid-19 testing for the community,” he said at a virtual press conference on Thursday (3/6). Jonathan said the company made a new method of testing Covid-19 because the number of Covid-19 tests is still low.

40 Thousand Covid-19 Tests per Day Need to be Done in Indonesia

According to the World Health Organization or WHO, the minimum test ratio is one sample per thousand people per week for each smallest unit. So, in Indonesia, with a population of 270 million, it is necessary to carry out around 40 thousand Covid-19 tests per day.

From the Ministry of Health’s data, the Covid-19 examination was indeed above 40 thousand people last May (11/5) before Eid. However, during Eid and after, the number of tests plummeted. At the time of Eid (14/5), the number of tests reached 15,945 people.

Gradually the number of tests increased again to 36,988 people after Lebaran (17/5). Meanwhile, active cases have increased from 90,000 to 100,000 after Eid.

As of Wednesday (2/6), the number of positive cases of Covid-19 in Indonesia reached 1,831,773 people. Then, the number of recovered cases reached 1,680,501 and 50,908 people died due to Covid-19.

Jonathan said, until now Halodoc has served Covid-19 tests to 1 million users in various methods, both antigen, PCR, and others. Meanwhile, Halodoc has reached 20 million users so far.

“We hope that this new service will reach more and more users,” he said. Vice President Director of Siloam Hospitals Group Caroline Riady said, there are three ways the company is currently tackling the coronavirus.

First, carry out as many tests or screenings as possible to stop the transmission of the virus. Second, improve services for Covid-19 patients. Third, the implementation of vaccination. Meanwhile, according to him, the test or screening is an important step during the pandemic.

“Because the sooner someone is identified and treated, the sooner the virus outbreak can be contained,” said Caroline.

Third-Party Cooperation is Carried out to Expand the Reach

Director, Country Manager Diagnostics Roche Indonesia Ahmed Hassan added, since the beginning of the pandemic his party has worked closely with various related parties including health service providers, the government, to health organizations and agencies to ensure that the public has the opportunity to get tested for Covid-19.

Ahmed expressed his appreciation for the collaboration with Siloam Hospitals Group, which has the largest network in Indonesia. This is believed to facilitate access to health including Covid-19 tests, treatment, and care for more people.

For him, establishing a partnership with Siloam Hospitals Group is the right step. In this strategic collaboration, Halodoc is present as an exclusive external booking partner.

Not only access to test orders on applications and websites, but Halodoc also continues to provide health education to the public.