Antibody tests may be used to help stem the COVID-19 pandemic– but first need to overcome several obstacles. Credit: Greg Baker/AFP/Getty
Tests normally fall into one of 2 classifications: laboratory tests that require to be processed by trained professionals and take about a day, and point-of-care tests that provide rapid, on-the-spot outcomes within 15 minutes to half an hour. In some nations, such as the United States and Australia, tests are being used in some cases to detect people who have actually believed COVID-19, however who check negative on a standard PCR test, says Smith.
It appears that lots of tests offered now are not accurate enough at identifying individuals who have had the illness, a home called test sensitivity, and those who haven’t been contaminated, known as test specificity.
Additional reporting by Elizabeth Gibney.
