FDA approves new COVID-19 test that could help 'long haulers'
The T-Detect COVID-19 test is developed by Seattle-based Adaptive Biotechnologies Corp. in collaboration with Microsoft
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Food and Drug Administration has issued an emergency use authorization for a new coronavirus testing method using the body’s T-cells — which could help better diagnose COVID long-haulers.
The T-Detect COVID-19 test — developed by Seattle-based Adaptive Biotechnologies Corp. in collaboration with Microsoft — is billed as a "next generation" screening method that analyzes DNA from T-cells in blood samples instead of current testing methods that screen for immune proteins.
"The T-Detect COVID test will be a useful tool to help determine if a person previously had COVID-19," the FDA announced Friday. "This is especially important for people who may have exhibited symptoms previously or believe they have been exposed but have not tested positive."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The company’s chief medical officer told Bloomberg prior to the FDA’s approval that the $150 test may help people who think they’ve been infected but haven’t been diagnosed — especially so-called "long haulers" who have had symptoms persist for weeks or months.
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"Some of these people were never diagnosed," Adaptive’s Lance Baldo told Bloomberg in January. "Sometimes their physicians are wondering, and – frankly, this is where it gets ugly – sometimes their insurers are wondering."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The blood test extracts DNA from T-cells and then uses machine-learning software developed in a partnership Microsoft to determine if the person has been previously infected with the virus.
"We’re looking for that imprint, like a crime scene investigation," Dr. William Li, a T-Detect prescribing physician, explained to ABC News Tuesday.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"So many people had the disease, recovered, never got a clear-cut diagnosis, yet they’re suffering from these bizarre, persisting symptoms. The T-cell test has been really useful in this long tail of COVID to help patients establish where they are."
Baldo told ABC News that T-cells work as the immune system’s front-line "foot soldiers."
How long their response stays in the body remains unclear, but UK research suggests up to six months — potentially longer than antibodies, Bloomberg reported.
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