“100% Accurate” Antibody Test May Be Coronavirus Advance

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According to public health leaders, a new test to determine if people have ever been infected with coronavirus is 100% accurate.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson previously called the antibody test a “game changer” as it can reveal how many people have had Covid-19 without any symptoms and thus may be immune.

Any reliable test can help speed up measures to facilitate the lockout because people could return to work trusting that they are unlikely to do so again.

Public Health England (PHE) said last week that scientific experts at its Porton Down facility had conducted an independent evaluation of a new antibody blood test developed by a Swiss pharmaceutical company.

The examination found that Roche’s serology test was “highly specific” and 100% accurate.

Professor John Newton, national coordinator of the UK Coronavirus Testing Program, said that while it was still unclear to what extent the presence of antibodies indicated immunity to Covid-19, it was a “very positive development”.

He added: “We were confident that good quality antibody tests would be available when needed.

“Last week, PHE Porton Down scientific experts conducted an independent evaluation of the new Roche Sars-CoV-2 serological assay in record time, concluding that it is a highly specific assay with 100% specificity.

“This is a very positive development because such a highly specific antibody test is a very reliable marker of past infections.

“This in turn may indicate some immunity to future infections, although the extent to which the presence of antibodies indicates immunity remains unclear.”

The antibody test is designed to help determine if a patient has been exposed to the virus that causes Covid-19 and has developed antibodies against it.

Detecting these antibodies could help indicate whether a person has obtained immunity against the virus.

Johnson said in March, “The best thing about getting tested to see if you’ve had enough is that a green light suddenly comes on over your head and you can go back to work safe and secure knowing you are. It is highly unlikely that you will reappear.” .

“So from an economic point of view, from a social point of view, it really could be a game changer.”

A spokeswoman for the UK Department of Health and Social Assistance said: “We are exploring the use of antibody testing across the NHS and, ultimately, in the general public.

“We are delighted that the devices are progressing through validation, and we are actively working on our plans to implement antibody testing and will make announcements in due course.”

British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said last week that the UK was in talks with Roche about a “large-scale deployment” of tests for antibodies to the coronavirus.

The findings come when Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s health emergencies program, said at the FT global boardroom digital conference that no one could predict when the disease would go away.

He said: “We have a new virus that is entering the human population for the first time, and therefore it is very difficult to predict when we will prevail over it.

“And it is important to put this on the table: this virus can become another endemic virus in our communities. And this virus may never go away.

“HIV has not disappeared, we have come to terms with the virus and we have found therapies and we have found prevention methods, and people are not feeling as scared as before and we are offering a long and healthy life to people with HIV “

Coronavirus cases in the UK (PA Graphics)

Johnson will preside over the cabinet today, the day after bleak economic figures were released and some blockade restrictions in England were relaxed.

After data showed the economy contracted 5.8% in March, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey warned that Britain was in a sharp slide toward recession.

He said to ITV’s Peston: “Well, I think it tends to confirm that we have a very abrupt move into the recession and it was quite sudden, which is obviously what we have all observed since the close of the economy, whatever Frankly, we are not really surprised by that number at all. “



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