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Government Medical Alert: Results from laboratory-based tests for COVID-19 antibodies using capillary blood sample collection kits may not be reliable

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Northerner said:
Just received this:

www.gov.uk

Results from laboratory-based tests for COVID-19 antibodies using capillary blood sample collection kits may not be reliable (MDA/2020/015)

This covers issues with both laboratory based tests for COVID-19 antibodies (unvalidated sample type) and capillary blood sample collection kits (unvalidated for home use)
www.gov.uk www.gov.uk
Click to expand...

Think this just applies to serology/antibody tests which are not (or anyway should not be) used for diagnosing current infection. It'd be surprising and bad if any labs were using them for doing that in UK.

AFAIK, the only valid use at the moment is for research purposes - surveys of historical infection spread in a population, taking account of the sensitivity and specificity limitations of these tests at the moment.
 
They have been trying to discourage people to buy private tests.
 
grovesy said:
They have been trying to discourage people to buy private tests.
Click to expand...

Serology tests are banned here for private and also for practitioners - only allowed for research purposes.
 
Well some companies have been selling here, and private clinics.
 
Well a chain called Superdrug, were selling for about £70 and private clinics nearer £200.
 
grovesy said:
Well a chain called Superdrug, were selling for about £70 and private clinics nearer £200.
Click to expand...
Oh yes, I remember reading about a week ago that Superdrug had suddenly withdrawn their test, no real reason given.
 
Its unfortunate to keep hearing about false negatives etc from the results. That sort of thing is gonna properly mess up any hope of track and trace :(
 
Eddy Edson said:
Serology tests are banned here for private and also for practitioners - only allowed for research purposes.
Click to expand...
Eddy,

Are they talking about the antibody test in superdrug to see if you have already had covid19? This one was said to use only government approved testing facilities.
 
Amity Island said:
Eddy,

Are they talking about the antibody test in superdrug to see if you have already had covid19? This one was said to use only government approved testing facilities.
Click to expand...
From the Govt notice about the antibody test that Northie quotes, the problem isn’t the labs, it’s the collecting of the blood sample. Some pharmacies (superdrug amongst others) and private health care operators have been selling the tests to private customers, and the test isn’t licensed for self collection at home of capillary blood, only for a blood sample drawn from a vein. (most of us would be Ok, with our collective experience of finger prick testing, but the general public can’t be trusted to do it properly, according to the report.)
 
Robin said:
From the Govt notice about the antibody test that Northie quotes, the problem isn’t the labs, it’s the collecting of the blood sample. Some pharmacies (superdrug amongst others) and private health care operators have been selling the tests to private customers, and the test isn’t licensed for self collection at home of capillary blood, only for a blood sample drawn from a vein. (most of us would be Ok, with our collective experience of finger prick testing, but the general public can’t be trusted to do it properly, according to the report.)
Click to expand...

Interestingly Im involved in helping with a clinical trial (on the PPI side) and they are coming up with a method of collecting blood samples for HbA1c follow-ups so that people dont have to attend. There’s something like a 12 step process of gathering enough capillary blood for the necessary samples. And this is for T1s very used to fingerstick sampling - its just that the quantity of blood needed and care in the sampling is quite different!
 
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