Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: https://www.scmp.com/news/world/ame...hinese-coronavirus-antibody-tests-it-didnt-go
Peru bet on cheap Chinese coronavirus antibody tests – it didn’t go well
Health officials knew molecular tests for Covid-19 were best option, but country did not have the needed labs or technicians
Misuse of antibody blood tests producing sizeable number of false positives and negatives, helping fuel one of world’s worst Covid-19 outbreaks.
Associated Press
Published: 4:46am, 8 Oct, 2020
Updated: 5:13am, 8 Oct, 2020
In the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, the harried health officials of Peru faced a quandary. They knew molecular tests for Covid-19 were the best option to detect the virus – yet they didn’t have the labs, the supplies, or the technicians to make them work.
But there was a cheaper alternative – antibody tests, mostly from China, that were flooding the market at a fraction of the price and could deliver a positive or negative result within minutes of a simple fingerstick.
In March, President Martin Vizcarra took the airwaves to announce he had signed off on a massive purchase of 1.6 million tests – almost all of them for antibodies.
Now, interviews with experts, public purchase orders, import records, government resolutions, patients, and Covid-19 health reports show that the country’s bet on rapid antibody tests went dangerously off course...
Peru bet on cheap Chinese coronavirus antibody tests – it didn’t go well
Health officials knew molecular tests for Covid-19 were best option, but country did not have the needed labs or technicians
Misuse of antibody blood tests producing sizeable number of false positives and negatives, helping fuel one of world’s worst Covid-19 outbreaks.
Associated Press
Published: 4:46am, 8 Oct, 2020
Updated: 5:13am, 8 Oct, 2020
In the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, the harried health officials of Peru faced a quandary. They knew molecular tests for Covid-19 were the best option to detect the virus – yet they didn’t have the labs, the supplies, or the technicians to make them work.
But there was a cheaper alternative – antibody tests, mostly from China, that were flooding the market at a fraction of the price and could deliver a positive or negative result within minutes of a simple fingerstick.
In March, President Martin Vizcarra took the airwaves to announce he had signed off on a massive purchase of 1.6 million tests – almost all of them for antibodies.
Now, interviews with experts, public purchase orders, import records, government resolutions, patients, and Covid-19 health reports show that the country’s bet on rapid antibody tests went dangerously off course...