UPDATED: Tens of thousands of rapid tests received by P.E.I. have not been used

Thousands of rapid tests received by P.E.I. from the federal government are currently sitting on a shelf.

As of Tuesday, the P.E.I. government had received 37,728 rapid tests from federal authorities. Only 936 of these tests have been deployed. 

"We have only used about 2.5 per cent," Dr. Heather Morrison, chief public health officer, said during a media briefing on Tuesday. 

“That’s fairly consistent. I believe the rest of the country has used a smaller number of those rapid antigen tests.”

In an emailed statement, the Chief Public Health Office said P.E.I.’s strong testing capacity and quick turnaround times have meant the Island has “not had much demand for rapid tests.”

The statement also said the province would employ rapid tests as part of an outbreak response.

Rapid tests can be used quickly in spaces where quick transmission could occur, such as restaurants, large workplaces or long-term care facilities. Public health experts have said the widespread use of rapid testing, while not a replacement of lab-based PCR tests, could help prevent outbreaks in the months ahead, as provinces grapple with delays in vaccination shipments. 

Rapid tests are relatively simple to use and can give results in minutes. But they are less sensitive than PCR tests, a reason cited by Morrison to explain their low deployment numbers in P.E.I. during a standing committee meeting last month. Media statements from the province in January have said these tests are “not considered safe to use”.

Canada’s COVID-19 testing and screening expert advisory panel has recommended provinces scale up the use of rapid testing. Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government, which has distributed 19 million of the tests to provinces, may begin bypassing provincial health authorities and sending them directly to pharmacies. 

A federal website that tracks the distribution of rapid tests to provinces showed no change in the number of rapid tests P.E.I. has deployed, compared to two weeks ago.

During Tuesday’s briefing, Morrison said some rapid tests have been deployed to community hospitals in Montague and Alberton. Around 500 rapid tests were used during the circuit breaker period in December for testing 20- to 29-year-olds at UPEI.

Some have also been used to test members of P.E.I.’s homeless population.

The emailed statement said rapid tests could be used in the future at points of entry, such as the Charlottetown Airport. However, it did not indicate why they are not being currently used at points of entry.

The statement also confirmed P.E.I. has declined additional shipments of rapid tests from the federal government for the time being.

Like P.E.I., Newfoundland and Labrador had also reported low community spread and a very low rate of use for rapid tests prior to last week’s outbreak. Once it was clear a U.K. variant of COVID-19 had spread to hundreds, public health authorities there began employing rapid testing widely. Positive cases were considered presumptive. 

So far, P.E.I. has received two types of rapid tests. Morrison said a molecular rapid test, known as the Abbott ID Now test, has been used. An antigen test, the Abbott Panbio, has not been used in P.E.I. despite the fact that 26,400 of these tests have been received.

"We are actually in the process of discussing some pilot testing of our rapid test in conjunction with the PCR tests (lab-based), almost as a quality assurance," she said.

This could begin this week.

No new cases of COVID-19 were reported in P.E.I. on Tuesday. There are currently two active cases on P.E.I. A case of the U.K. variant, involving a traveller, was reported over the weekend but there is no indication it has spread in the community.

Morrison also said 700 doses of P.E.I.’s shipment of the Moderna vaccine have been diverted to Northern Territories by the federal government. 

As of Tuesday, all existing residents and staff of long-term care facilities have been fully vaccinated, with the exception of the Chez-Nous facility in Wellington. Residents were displaced after a fire in January. 

Some community care facilities had vaccine clinics delayed on Tuesday due to weather conditions. These are expected to be completed Wednesday.