The image shows COVID19 in yellow entering a cell.
Touted as society’s way out of widespread lock downs, scientists say the true potential of these rapidly developed tests is still unknown and none have proved to be completely reliable and accurate to date.
Antibody tests have captured the world’s attention for their potential to help life return to normal by revealing who has been exposed, and might now be immune, to the new coronavirus.
Dozens of biotech companies and research laboratories have rushed to produce the blood tests. And governments around the world have bought millions of kits, in the hope that they could guide decisions on when to relax social-distancing measures and get people back to work. Some have even suggested that the tests could be used as an ‘immunity passport’, giving the owner clearance to interact with others again.
But as with most new technologies, there are signs that the promises of COVID-19 antibody tests have been oversold, and their challenges underestimated. Kits have flooded the market, but most aren’t accurate enough to confirm whether an individual has been exposed to the virus.
Early studies in people who have recovered from COVID-19 have detected three kinds of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibody, and manufacturers and research institutes have developed tests that target these antibodies.
Much, much more here from this Nature article dated 18th April 2020:
nature.com/articles/d41586-...
Jackie