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New Abbott SARS-CoV-2 antibody test has 99.90% specificity and 100% sensitivity

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Re: New Abbott SARS-CoV-2 antibody test has 99.90% specificity and 100% sensitivity

#151

Post by shawabawa3 »

jfoster wrote: post #93
y-c-o-m-b wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Weird cold" in February checking in. I did not have any temperature variations or fevers, but I got struck with a fatigue like no other. For the first time since I was 3 years old, I took afternoon naps three days in a row because I was just completely wiped out. It's rare for me to take a nap at all (happens maybe once a year)! It took two weeks to get out of this fatigued state. My other symptoms were "chills-like…

I have been wondering why it is considered to have originated in Wuhan rather than Wuhan simply being the first major outbreak where it was identified as a novel coronavirus. Is it always the case that hospitals will be capable of identifying a new type of virus based on some patients who look like they have the flu? One thing that's known about covid-19 is that it has an unusual spread pattern. In some circumstances…

I believe DNA studies have linked the origin to bats in the area of wuhan

Re: New Abbott SARS-CoV-2 antibody test has 99.90% specificity and 100% sensitivity

#152

Post by not2b »

jrockway wrote: post #106
xyhopguy wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

people say that because .25% of the population in NYC are dead from covid. we dont see those numbers here -- if it was widespread in feb, what caused the discrepancy?

I guess we need to know the total number of cases to figure out what the deaths mean, and until everyone has gotten an antibody test, we can't know that total number. To make the numbers work for the "weird cold" in early February case, I guess we have to work backwards. Assume that when we went into lockdown was the actual peak, 8 million people in New York City had COVID-19. That means that there is one death for e…

1 out of 421 NYC residents have died, based on today's numbers, and recent serological tests estimated that 20% of residents were exposed. If that's right, then the death rate would be about 1/84, or about 1.2%. But I've seen other claims that the exposure rate in NYC is higher, which would give a lower fatality rate.

Re: New Abbott SARS-CoV-2 antibody test has 99.90% specificity and 100% sensitivity

#153

Post by Natsu »

risaacs99 wrote: post #119
elorant wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Viruses tend to become less lethal as time passes, not more.

I keep reading people asserting this, and I assume it's because we believe that a virus that becomes less lethal would have an evolutionary advantage. But, wouldn't lengthening the incubation period also be a successful evolutionary strategy regardless of lethality? It seems to me that there are many possible strategies that a mutating virus might gain an advantage and we shouldn't just assume that the only one that…

You're neglecting the other side of things in that analysis. The more successful deadly viruses tend to eliminate their victims, so the surviving population has a higher concentration of people who are resistant or immune to it, including those who acquire immunity after being exposed to the virus.

Re: New Abbott SARS-CoV-2 antibody test has 99.90% specificity and 100% sensitivity

#154

Post by sambe »

adrr wrote: post #129
danans wrote: post #53

It seems like a voluntary test for someone without symptoms is of limited value to the individual (beyond their individual curiosity) since we don't know enough either way about reinfection risk at this point, and the result is not terribly actionable - you can't just walk into stores without a mask because you have a positive antibody test - nobody is going to trust your lab result printout as a reason to avoid publ…

People hav held off seeing their parents. If I knew i had antibodies, I’d plan a trip later in the summer to live with them and do all the shopping to decrease the risk of them getting infected. People with antibodies are the best people to provide services with the at risk population.

Parent comment: “we don't know enough either way about reinfection risk at this point”

Are you disagreeing or did you miss that?

Re: New Abbott SARS-CoV-2 antibody test has 99.90% specificity and 100% sensitivity

#155

Post by 3001 »

SethTro wrote: post #124

Slightly misleading headline. The test is not new, it's been launched since April and has already shipped 10M tests. According to https://abbott.mediaroom.com/2020-05-08-Research-from-Univer...

It's new.This is the second antibody test Abbott is launching.

Disclosure: I work for Abbott.

Re: New Abbott SARS-CoV-2 antibody test has 99.90% specificity and 100% sensitivity

#156

Post by bb2018 »

shawabawa3 wrote: post #151
jfoster wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have been wondering why it is considered to have originated in Wuhan rather than Wuhan simply being the first major outbreak where it was identified as a novel coronavirus. Is it always the case that hospitals will be capable of identifying a new type of virus based on some patients who look like they have the flu? One thing that's known about covid-19 is that it has an unusual spread pattern. In some circumstances…

I believe DNA studies have linked the origin to bats in the area of wuhan

That isn't true. The bats that it mostly likely come from are in China - but in Southern China about 1000 miles from Wuhan.

Re: New Abbott SARS-CoV-2 antibody test has 99.90% specificity and 100% sensitivity

#158

Post by heretoo »

alexbanks wrote: post #147
y-c-o-m-b wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Weird cold" in February checking in. I did not have any temperature variations or fevers, but I got struck with a fatigue like no other. For the first time since I was 3 years old, I took afternoon naps three days in a row because I was just completely wiped out. It's rare for me to take a nap at all (happens maybe once a year)! It took two weeks to get out of this fatigued state. My other symptoms were "chills-like…

"Weird cold" in February checking in. Fever, back pain, chills, post nasal drip. Felt bad for ~3 days and then felt better. Getting antibody tested tomorrow, will report back.

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/494042-first-us-cor...

First deaths in February for the United States.

Re: New Abbott SARS-CoV-2 antibody test has 99.90% specificity and 100% sensitivity

#159

Post by lbeltrame »

thoraway1010 wrote: post #89
cerebral_oasis wrote: post #38

I took this antibody test through LabCorp on Friday and tested positive. I have been in strict (see: paranoid) isolation with one other person since March 7 and haven't felt sick or anything close to it since then. I did have what I thought was a strange flu/cold early February with a sore throat, post-nasal drip, wildly varying body temperature, and lower back pains. In hindsight those are COVID-19 symptoms. the per…

The results I got had a big FDA warning that positive results may be a result of other infections (ie, that the tests are not specific to covid). I feel like the WHO (body may not produce antibodies as part of beating covid, antibodies have not been shown to confer any immunity) and now the FDA may be talking about true but theoretical issues. What is the REAL rate, in the USA, of folks who have for example MERS anti…

> I feel like the WHO (body may not produce antibodies as part of beating covid,

FTR, this assertion has been proven to be false (the other needs further investigation)[1]. Antibodies (IgM and IgG) are produced during the infection and peak afterwards.

[1] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-020-0897-1

Re: New Abbott SARS-CoV-2 antibody test has 99.90% specificity and 100% sensitivity

#160

Post by Scipio_Afri »

ardit33 wrote: post #102
jrockway wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good anecdote. I also had a "weird cold" in February with symptoms that are unusual for me but typical of COVID-19, and have been waiting to get the antibody test. I kind of expect it to turn out the same way. (Otherwise, I would really like to figure out what the "weird cold" that everyone had in February was. Because it sure was weird, and everyone I know had it.)

took this test this Friday (Quest Direct) in NYC and tested negative. In late Feb. I had a 'flu like symptoms' with fever and massive headache for few days. What worried me later is that I had the 'can't taste anything' symptom a week later. No coughing though. If you read online, you see people swear they had it at some point this winter. So, if you had a 'flu like' symptoms in Feb or early March, perhaps it was jus…

Just to put this in some context, but the Quest Diagnostics and other tests currently available are good but not great. For example, from their website there are the following disclaimers:

This test has not been reviewed by the FDA.

Positive results may be due to past or present infection with non-SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus strains, such as coronavirus HKU1, NL63, OC43, or 229E.

Negative results do not rule out SARS-CoV-2 infection, particularly in those who have been in contact with the virus. Follow-up testing with a molecular diagnostic should be considered to rule out infection in these individuals.

Results from antibody testing should not be used as the sole basis to diagnose or exclude SARS-CoV-2 infection or to inform infection status.

https://www.questdiagnostics.com/home/Covid-19/HCP/

Other sources state the following, however its important that not a lot of research has been done to validate the manufacturers specifications, of these tests such as specificity. Only over time and independent review will these numbers be more accurately quantified:

"The company started out using the Euroimmun AG Anti-SARS-CoV-2 ELISA IgG antibody test and then added the Abbott IgG antibody test. It is continuing to use both tests, although the Abbott test has become the primary platform. Euroimmun is a division of Perkin Elmer.

Both tests have received emergency use authorization from the FDA; only 10 serology tests have received this designation from the agency. The Euroimmun IgG test has a reported specificity of 96% and sensitivity of 65%, while the Abbott test claims a sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 99.5%. The FDA has just cracked down on serology tests requiring supporting validation documentation to be submitted within 10 business days of an initial notification."

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