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Re: Coronavirus
Not good news, but to be expected with new technology.
https://www.ft.com/content/f28e26a0-...b-b3a618ca659d
Quote:
The UK government has admitted that none of the 17.5m antibody tests it ordered in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic work well enough to be used.
Ministers had high hopes that the arrival of the tests would give a much clearer picture about how many people had been infected by Covid-19, paving the way for an eventual easing of lockdown restrictions.
The failure of the tests is a significant setback and suggests Britain may be further away from being able to launch an effective programme of mass testing.
The government is working with nine companies that have developed coronavirus antibody tests, which screen for whether someone has recovered from the disease and is likely to be immune. The tests are being assessed by researchers at Oxford university — but each one has so far proven unreliable.
“Sadly, the tests we have looked at to date have not performed well,” wrote Professor John Bell, Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford university on Monday.
“We see many false negatives (tests where no antibody is detected despite the fact we know it is there) and we also see false positives. None of the tests we have validated would meet the criteria for a good test as agreed with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. This is not a good result for test suppliers or for us,” he said.
Last week Matt Hancock, the health secretary, said the government had placed a provisional order for 17.5m antibody tests. “We will only use them if they work,” he said.
Downing Street confirmed on Monday that “no test so far has been proved to be good enough to be used” and said it was working with the companies to improve their quality.
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