I’ll try to summarize Scott Gottlieb’s latest Wall Street Journal op-ed:
- The SARS-CoV-2 antibody tests we were getting from China were lousy.
- Those from Quest and Abbott (“reputable companies”) are a lot better.
- They still give false positives.
- Using the results of passing antibody tests to allow or forbid certain actions (“antibody passports”) will never meet civil rights muster in the U. S.
- Is there some way to “incorporate evidence of immunity into a person’s overall health”?
I’m less interested in that last than I am in getting some handle on the actual scope of the disease from place to place within the U. S. We still have no real notion of that.
Tests?
I mentioned that four weeks ago I had slight fever and cough, went to Dr.
She sent me for Covid test which was negative. But here four weeks on, no fever, no cough. But weak and sore all over. Can barely stand. No Drs. office will see me. THEY don’t trust the tests, or know what to make of the results.
I dont know Quest’s results, but Abbott’s test is pretty good. I dont think we have resolved the issue of whether or not people sustain immunity and for how long, so not sure these have a lot of value other than maybe a s a surveillance tool.
Steve