Professor John Newton, the national coordinator of the UK COVID-19 testing programme, has warned against buying unapproved antibody testing kits.
Antibody tests are a crucial component of the government’s strategy to boost COVID-19 testing rates to protect vulnerable individuals and front-line NHS staff. There have been several reports of organisations wanting to buy these tests for their employees, or of individuals seeking them online for personal use.
According to Prof Newton, unapproved tests could provide inaccurate or inconsistent results, potentially jeopardising the health of those tested as well as the people they come into contact with. The antibody tests which have undergone validation till now have not proven accurate enough to be offered for public use; however, the government is trying their best to support the development of a robust and reliable home-grown test. Until then, people are urged to follow the social distancing advice.
Prof Newton said: "No country in the world has yet found an antibody test reliable enough to work as a back-to-work diagnostic, but the UK is leading the way in this emerging area of science and technology, and companies and scientists are doing everything they can to improve the accuracy of the tests on the market. As soon as we have found a test that works for this purpose, we will be in a position to roll them out across the country as a back-to-work test."
