Rapid coronavirus test used at White House misses many COVID-19 cases, new study says
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The Abbott Laboratories coronavirus test that's been used at the White House to rapidly confirm whether someone is infected may miss as many as half of positive cases, according to a report from New York University.
"Based on our findings we could argue that the Abbott ID NOW detects samples with high viral load or possibly viable virus that could be of importance for transmission," the researchers concluded. "But, the fact that it misses positive samples on patients being admitted to the hospital with clinical picture of COVID-19 makes this technology unacceptable in our clinical setting."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The new paper, which has not been peer-reviewed yet, is casting doubt on the effectiveness of the tests and may confirm that the Abbott tests produce very high false negatives. Abbott is reportedly evaluating the NYU study's results.
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Abbott’s ID NOW system is seen above. (Abbott)
"Regardless of method of collection and sample type, Abbot ID NOW COVID-19 missed a third of the samples detected positive by Cepheid Xpert Xpress when using NP swabs in VTM and over 48 percent when using dry nasal swabs," the researchers write in the paper, referring to a rival test.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}An Abbott spokesperson told Fox Business the NYU paper's findings don't match the company's research, which finds the reported rate of false negatives is at 0.02 percent.
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"Once again, a study has been conducted using ID NOW in a manner that it’s not intended to be used," the spokesperson said. "It’s unclear if the samples were tested correctly and we’re further evaluating these results."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}President Trump touted the Abbott ID Now system during a press conference in early April. The test is still used at the White House.
As of Wednesday afternoon more than 4.3 million people have been infected with coronavirus worldwide.