COVID-19 infection detection tests are not perfect (link)
If using the quick-turn-around Abbott ID NOW Point-of-Care Test, the one used in the WH and Congress, the miss rate may even be higher, although Abbott still maintains and defends it as 85% accurate.
From the link below:
The majority of tests for the novel coronavirus involve taking a swab from the back of the nose or the throat for genetic analysis.
This analysis uses a laboratory procedure called reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), which converts genetic material from the virus (RNA) to DNA before amplifying it. It allows the detection of genetic material specific to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, confirming a diagnosis of the associated disease, COVID-19.
Although serological, or antibody, tests are also available, these typically serve to confirm a past infection in people who have since recovered from COVID-19, rather than to detect an active infection.
There has been much discussion about the accuracy of antibody tests, with manufacturers even withdrawing some such tests due to concerns about their reliability. A new analysis suggests that the accuracy of RT-PCR could also be under question.
Scientists from Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, have shown that as many as 1 in 5 RT-PCR tests for the coronavirus may produce false negatives, incorrectly informing a patient that they do not have a SARS-CoV-2 infection when they actually do.
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In response to this post by ryno hoo)
Link: Tests may miss more than 1 in 5 COVID-19 cases
Posted: 06/27/2020 at 1:39PM