Schools may soon be able to test their staff and students for COVID-19 and get results in a matter of minutes as the first antigen rapid test gets distributed mid-September to governors in every state.
The rapid test requires only a simple nasal swab, costs less, at only $5, than the other emergency use authorization (EUA) COVID-19 tests, and gives results in 15 minutes, with one line denoting a negative result and two lines a positive, similar to a home pregnancy test.
The administration will also continue to focus on keeping high-risk groups safe during the pandemic as more areas open up. “So, we’re focusing on nursing homes, elderly, and minorities because they are the most likely to be hospitalized and die,” Giroir said. “I think it’s very clear that the vulnerable need to be shielded and they need to be our first priority.”
Widespread Production
Abbott’s plans to produce 48 million rapid tests every month beginning in October will transform the landscape of testing in the United States allowing the possibility of opening the country safely, when used in conjunction with PCR tests, before a vaccine is available. PCR tests are mainly used to diagnose infection and report daily cases.“Rapid tests are urgently needed to help clear individuals as schools and the economy reopens,” Dr. William W. Li told The Epoch Times in an email. Li, an internationally renowned physician, scientist, and author of New York Times bestseller “Eat to Beat Disease: The New Science of How Your Body Can Heal Itself,” says that its paramount to perform more testing in the fight against COVID-19.
Sensitivity Concerns
As with other COVID-19 tests, Abbott’s antigen test has its limitation. Its low sensitivity or the “ability to determine the patient cases correctly” is a concern to experts, as the test is more likely to give a false negative. Antigen tests are generally less sensitive than PCR tests as they require a higher viral load to be able to detect a fragment of the virus’s RNA.False negative results may still require some patients to receive a PCR test for confirmation. But according to the FDA, false positives may also occur, making it important and necessary to also know the patient’s symptoms, medical history, and exposure to “determine infection status” along with using the rapid antigen test to determine the correct treatment protocol.
At-home Test Availability
Regardless of its wide production and distribution, the rapid test requires a prescription and is only for people who healthcare practitioners “suspect” of having COVID-19 “within seven days of symptom onset” according to the FDA. It is currently not available for at-home use, but the federal agency is trying to change that.‘Cycle Threshold’ Key Information Missing in Test Result Interpretation
Since the pandemic began, PCR tests have been the gold standard diagnostic test for the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus that causes COVID-19, informing physicians only if a patient is infected or not, based on the cycle threshold (CT) value.
The CT is the number of cycles it takes the test machine to find the virus’s genetic material. Unlike an antigen test, a PCR test is a molecular test that looks for the genome of a virus.
“The lower the number of cycles, the more virus is present,” Li said. “The higher the number of cycles needed to pick up signs of the virus, the less is present.”
Researchers in a preliminary study of 183 COVID-19 positive samples published in the European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Disease found that “patients with Ct above 33–34 using our RT-PCR system are not contagious” and recommended their discharge “from hospital care or strict confinement for non-hospitalized patients.”
Li says that it is still too early to tell the role of CT in predicting patient prognosis. “Presently it is not known if cycle threshold (ct) is predictive of how a patient will do, so there is no way yet to use the ct number to guide school and economy reopening,” Li said.