Researchers are now developing another kind of COVID-19 test — an antigen test — that homes in on proteins on the virus's surface. Proponents say it could be easier and more widely available, but some scientists are worried about its accuracy.
But Inglesby and others caution that any antigen tests would have to be carefully vetted to make sure they're accurate. Relaxed oversight by the FDA recently has raised concerns about the reliability of some other kinds of tests — such as antibody tests — which are being marketed aggressively by some companies with unverified claims.
Generally, antigen tests tend to miss about 15 to 20 percent of infections, Nolte and others say, and that's likely not good enough for many uses of a diagnostic test for the coronavirus. Widescale testing is considered crucial for determining the scope of the pandemic, bringing it under control and keeping large new outbreaks from occurring. Testing enables public health authorities to spot new infections quickly so patients can be isolated and so anyone they might have had contact with.
"The difficult question — and the one we want to ask — is how well does it perform on samples from real patients," Gehrke says. "Our aiming point for our rapid antigen test is to make it highly sensitive and highly specific," Tang says, though he acknowledges it remains to be seen how the test will compare to the molecular tests. It could turn out the antigen test's results would have to be confirmed by the PCR tests, Tang says.is also developing an antigen test and hopes to get it approved by June, according to Fionna Tod, a company spokeswoman.
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