For a while, antigen tests were seen as less useful and less reliable than the more time-consuming - and expensive - PCR test, even being branded as "snake oil" by NPHET's Professor Philip Nolan earlier this year.
But today, over a year and a half into the pandemic, the Government has announced that they will play a greater role in future.
So what is rapid antigen testing, and what - if anything - has changed in the minds of decision makers to implement their use? What is antigen testing? Rapid antigen testing involves taking a sample from a person’s nose with a swab.
The process of a nose swab would not be unfamiliar to those who have had a Covid PCR test, but for an antigen test, there is no swab taken from the throat.