At this point, everyone on Earth (except maybe Sweden) is itching for the Covid-19 lockdown to be over. Over the past few days, the glimmer of hope has come from the idea of antibody testing and point-of-care testing.
More than 20 biotech companies, such as Premier Biotech, have scaled up production of “antibody testing” and many countries have bought millions of tests. Even the US FDA has relaxed its limitation on the production and use of these tests – issuing a blanket disclaimer that the FDA has not reviewed these tests. The tests have two types: 1) laboratory tests meant to be used by trained technicians and 2) point-of-care tests providing results in about 30 minutes. It is now known that recovery from Covid-19 produces three types of SARS-CoV-2 specific antibodies, and the tests target these antibodies. However, the limitations of these tests are seemingly over-looked.
As the tests don’t detect the virus itself, only looking for the antibodies produced, detecting active infection is limited. So an active infection in the asymptomatic stage can’t be detected. Also, the scientific community isn’t clear if re-infection with Covid-19 is possible. Furthermore, the quality of many of the commercially available lab tests is low, with some recording specificities around 40% early in the infection course. Considering point-of-care testing, because a smaller blood or swab sample is taken, and the testing environment is not controlled, their reliability is understandably lower than lab tests. To date no country has validated antibody testing for Covid-19 infections.
Yes, there are current limitations and roadblocks to antibody and point-of-care testing. However, quick, portable and reliable testing is likely one of the major ways we can safely return to our practices. Yet, we do have to keep in mind that bad testing is worse than no testing at all.