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Several large Swedish companies now have their staff tested for covid-19 antibodies to see if they have been infected with the disease. Among them is clothing giant H&M which, according to DN sources, uses the test responses to make recommendations to its employees on an individual level.
A person who works at a store within the H&M Group in Stockholm says that all employees were offered the opportunity to undergo tests at the Werlabs company, which normally conducts regular health tests.
– It was a blood test, stick it in your finger. You did tests to see if you have an ongoing infection and also if you have antibodies.
The negative person in both cases received information from H&M that the purpose was to map the distribution among employees in the Stockholm area.
– I really think it’s a good initiative basically. But if there is no sure evidence and the Public Health Authority, which you should trust, does not say they are reliable, it will split. If they don’t say there is safe evidence, why should I do it?
On an information sheet you have It has been addressed to H&M employees, and of whom DN has participated, it is recommended that employees who test positive for so-called rapid antibodies, IgM, avoid avoiding going to their workplaces for the next two weeks. Even people who have been in contact with someone who tests positive for IgM are also encouraged to stay home.
H&M writes in its internal information that all employees are encouraged to follow the recommendations of the Public Health Authority and to work from home as much as possible.
Antibody tests for covid-19 are being sought and it is hoped that they can finally show whether a person has had an infection and is immune to the virus. But according to the Public Health Authority, there are question marks regarding the reliability of the tests and what protection a previously infected person really has.
Therefore, the authority discourages antibody testing at the individual level, that is, people are allowed to take tests and then act on the test responses, for example, return to work and end protective measures. . If antibody sampling is still used to determine if a person has been infected with covid-19, it is of great importance, according to FHM, to be informed of the deficiencies found in the tests.
“We still believe that you should wait to perform this type of antibody test to inform the individual,” says Karin Tegmark Wisell, director of the FHM’s microbiology department.
In an email to DN write Testbolaget Werlab CEO Henrik Forsberg says the company “agrees” with the Public Health Authority to use its testing capacity to survey companies in the Stockholm region and create a better understanding of the spread of infection .
The information H&M has sent to its employees emphasizes Werlab’s relationship with the Public Health Authority, and the document states that “FHM agrees with Werlabs to carry out a pilot study on companies in the Stockholm region.”
Karin Tegmark Wisell tells DN that the Public Health Authority does not have any agreements with Werlabs, but that the company and others who perform antibody tests receive guidance and support from the authority.
What do you get in return?
– They have offered to feed back their data in aggregate form. Then we have said that we are happy to receive, as we received it from others who carry out various studies and others to see how it looks with the appearance of the disease.
But don’t they do any analysis or testing on your behalf?
– Nerd.
Have them do these tests and share the results, does that mean you are behind your type of test?
– No, it is not that we have any approval procedure for any test. We have contributed to the dialogue with them, because the government allocation includes that we support in terms of method and quality. So there are several players with whom we have had a dialogue.
Isn’t there a risk of indirectly legitimizing Werlabs’ evidence, for example?
– It is always a balancing act. We try to be as transparent as possible and show that we support many companies and I understand that there is an interest on their part in affirming that they follow our recommendations. So there is a risk that there will be misunderstandings along the way. That you interpret it as a collaboration when you have had a dialogue with us.
You discourage people from having antibody tests, but you still want data from these tests: are they reliable or not?
– At the group level, there is reliability. By planning at the group level, you can compensate for the sensitivity of a test. But it becomes very difficult on an individual level because it cannot compensate the individual and the individual must have the message that this test does not catch everyone.
According to Karin Tegmark Wisell, the test has an antibody accuracy of about 80 percent.
In a written comment to DN, H&M states that the company cannot access the test results on an individual level and writes:
Werlabs agrees with the Public Health Authority to carry out a pilot test on several companies in the Stockholm region and the H&M group is one of these selected companies. We think it is very positive and we see it as a good opportunity to participate, since this type of extended testing can contribute to a better understanding of the spread of the virus in society. “
Werlab’s clients include In addition to H&M also Tele 2 and Spotify. As Di Digital previously reported, the big three companies have ties to Werlabs through their owners.
The Public Health Authority claims that data from private antibody tests under private supervision have also been received by the authority of the healthcare company Kry, which, however, tells DN that they have not currently carried out testing activities. of antibodies, but have only performed tests at the experimental level.
DN has repeatedly contacted Werlab CEO Henrik Forsberg to ask questions about the test Werlabs used, but has not responded.
Read more: Massive testing staff of large companies
