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FDA just cleared a $20 Covid-19 antibody test

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Re: FDA just cleared a $20 Covid-19 antibody test

#101

Post by erentz »

yzmtf2008 wrote: post #70
erentz wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One reason people seem to be missing for why antibody tests are very useful is it will allow us to confirm those that are now immune. We can’t get this from the RNA testing because it’s primarily being used on only symptomatic people at the time they have symptoms (and then only if they can get the test which typically means severe symptoms) But if we start to test widely for antibodies we can start to clear people f…

Having antibody doesn't mean you can't spread the virus. For example, antibody tests are often used to diagnose HIV, but testing positive for HIV antibody (i.e. you are infected) doesn't mean that life will be normal.

That’s true. Though you could still buffer it with a “must be positive for N weeks” rule.

Also, while there would be concern about a positive but still shedding person coming into contact with one who hasn’t contracted it, there’d be no issue with them hanging out/working/etc with others who are positive.

Re: FDA just cleared a $20 Covid-19 antibody test

#103

Post by dan_quixote »

orblivion wrote: post #96

There was a speculation I saw on Twitter, apparently considered by some serious people, that COVID-19 already swept through Seattle a couple months ago and was thought to merely be a bad flu season. I personally think this seems rather unlikely, but with an antibody test we could start to check people who had this mysterious flu.

My wife is a health care provider in Seattle (meaning that our family has much higher than average exposure risk) and the last few months have been brutal. We've all been sick one way or another since January and have had all the common Covid symptoms. So I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if a test showed I've already had it.

Re: FDA just cleared a $20 Covid-19 antibody test

#104

Post by joezydeco »

aqme28 wrote: post #83
joezydeco wrote: post #2

They also cleared the Pinnacle BioLabs assay. You can order a 2-pack or a 25-pack. https://www.pblabs.com/products/pinnacle-biolabs-covid-19-no... Mine arrived in the mail this morning.

Did you buy it for some sort of industry use, or as a regular consumer for personal testing?

Personal use.

I ordered it weeks ago purely as a hypothetical. If I was home sick with a flu, was it seasonal or was it nCov? This was before all the lockdowns started.

I also bought a fingertip pulse oximeter for the same reason. I’m surprised those haven’t been hoarded...yet.

Re: FDA just cleared a $20 Covid-19 antibody test

#105

Post by jakear »

eps wrote: post #84
absherwin wrote: post #45

This is an antibody test which will only be positive days after the onset of symptoms. This is principally useful for several purposes: 1. Figuring out who to isolate in hospitals if the RNA test isn't available in sufficient quantity 2. Understanding who has already recovered from COVID-19 and is thus immune with all that implies in terms of inability to spread the disease and reduced need for PPE 3. Enabling us to…

Hold on. Has it been confirmed that recovered people do in fact develop immunity?

I think its almost certain that if it were possible to be re-infected (at least in short timescales), it would have happened by now, somewhere.

Re: FDA just cleared a $20 Covid-19 antibody test

#106

Post by istorical »

dmurray wrote: post #92
eps wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hold on. Has it been confirmed that recovered people do in fact develop immunity?

It's ok to take that on faith. If you recover from the virus, it's because your immune system knows how to kill the virus. We don't know of any immune system interactions that don't work that way. There's a chance that immunity is short-lived, or that there are multiple strains of the virus which do not produce equivalent antibodies, but 100% of scientists will believe you develop immunity of some sort.

> We don't know of any immune system interactions that don't work that way.

Unfortunately not the case. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antibody-dependent_enhancement

But the good news is that we don't have any knowledge of coronaviruses that get worse the second time around because of ADE.

Re: FDA just cleared a $20 Covid-19 antibody test

#107

Post by divbzero »

Has anyone found independent verification of what’s claimed in the title? “FDA just cleared a $20 Covid-19 antibody test” does not appear on the linked website. In fact, the website indicates that “This test has not been reviewed by the FDA.” and I cannot find a notice from FDA’s official website regarding an antibody test.

If the claim cannot be verified, could OP or a moderator please correct the title?

Re: FDA just cleared a $20 Covid-19 antibody test

#108

Post by orblivion »

dan_quixote wrote: post #103
orblivion wrote: post #96

There was a speculation I saw on Twitter, apparently considered by some serious people, that COVID-19 already swept through Seattle a couple months ago and was thought to merely be a bad flu season. I personally think this seems rather unlikely, but with an antibody test we could start to check people who had this mysterious flu.

My wife is a health care provider in Seattle (meaning that our family has much higher than average exposure risk) and the last few months have been brutal. We've all been sick one way or another since January and have had all the common Covid symptoms. So I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if a test showed I've already had it.

If that's true, it seems to me that it would imply that this whole thing is a mass hysteria, at least as applied to the U.S. population, since Seattle would have looked like Italy a month ago.

Re: FDA just cleared a $20 Covid-19 antibody test

#109

Post by jacobsenscott »

gbjw wrote: post #56
skellington wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why? That's how the test kit works. It develops colored stripes that you QUALITATIVELY interpret. There is interpretation in the meaning of the saturation of the strip color.

I think they are referring to the (mis)spelling of 'qualatative.'

There are many mispelingz on there cite. It duz nut look gud 4 them atall.

Re: FDA just cleared a $20 Covid-19 antibody test

#110

Post by gridlockd »

yzmtf2008 wrote: post #70
erentz wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One reason people seem to be missing for why antibody tests are very useful is it will allow us to confirm those that are now immune. We can’t get this from the RNA testing because it’s primarily being used on only symptomatic people at the time they have symptoms (and then only if they can get the test which typically means severe symptoms) But if we start to test widely for antibodies we can start to clear people f…

Having antibody doesn't mean you can't spread the virus. For example, antibody tests are often used to diagnose HIV, but testing positive for HIV antibody (i.e. you are infected) doesn't mean that life will be normal.

Having antibodies and waiting 14 days to be safe will be good enough to be whitelisted.

Right now the only way to be whitelisted is having had a test done while being ill, but asymptomatic cases are unlikely to ever get tested.

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