The rapid coronavirus test that Trump touted at the White House and has been pushing for weeks has been producing false negatives.
A rapid test for the novel coronavirus that was unveiled by President Trump on the White House lawn and has already been used hundreds of thousands of times can falsely produce negative results in patients who are infected, according to clinicians and laboratory experts.
The 13-minute test, developed by Abbott Laboratories, a major U.S. health care and medical device company, usually still works properly, the company and clinicians say. But Abbott’s initial guidance on how to administer the test — guidance approved by the Food and Drug Administration — could lead to an unspecified number of false negative results. Abbott says changing how samples are collected should fix the problem.
The test works if people have a high or moderate level of the virus. It performs equal to other tests. The problem is that if a person has a low level of the virus it doesn’t show up on the test. Those are the exact people who need to be testing and quarantined early before they have a chance to unknowingly spread the virus and infect others.
The whole process has been rushed into the marketplace, but the rapid test that Trump continues to hype isn’t a miracle that will get everyone tested and the country back to normal.
Social distancing and stay at home orders are the only steps that are definitely working, and that is what Trump and his supporters are trying to end.
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Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
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