Why I Don ' t Check Covid Antibodies in Patients

We are (at a minimum) 5 months into the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic that has upended all of our lives. We have been told " testing, testing, testing " is needed and will be our way out to get back to normal. There is still massive confusion about testing so let ' s try and make some sense out of it.First some definitions:The Covid-19 nasal or throat swab test- This is the test that we are promised " Anyone can get " and most of the time it will reliably diagnose Covid infection. These tests are now provided in labs, drug stores, drive through testing and some specialized medical offices. Because they deal with patients who might be infected, the front line testers have to have full PPE to protect against the virus. Depending upon the test, the results are ready between 24 hours and up to a week. This test has up to a 20% false negative rate, meaning it will say there is no infection, even if a person is infected. The test has to capture the virus when it is most active to be positive and the test has to be processed correctly to give accurate results. If a person has symptoms that are suspicious of Covid with a negative test, they should have a follow- up test before it is considered accurate.This test tells you if you have Covid-19 at that point in time.The Covid-19 antibody blood test - This test uses special chemiluminescent immunoassay technology or lateral flow assay technology to test blood samples and see if a pers...
Source: EverythingHealth - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: blogs