Covid-19 Home Test Kit: Availability and Features

April 21, 2020-13: 42 BST

Gemma Strong

Coronavirus: How Does a Home Testing Kit Work and How Can I Get It? The government has announced that it will allow the public to conduct tests at home using a fingerprick kit available from Amazon and Boots.

The country is blocked Coronavirus pandemic It has swept the world and much focus is placed on the potential of home test kits. Secretary of Health Matt Hancock previously promised to test 100,000 British people a day – but how and when will the tests become available to the general public? Everything you should know so far is here …

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What is the Coronavirus Home Test?

Antibody home tests can detect if a person has a coronavirus and has subsequently recovered. The test is done using a finger stick device and tests the blood for coronavirus antibodies to see if the virus has already outperformed the virus and has acquired immunity. This can be done in about 15 minutes. In contrast, the government’s current coronavirus swab test can only determine if a person is infected with the virus, but not whether the person has the virus and then heals. Even with these swab tests, processing the results is time consuming.

More: Coronavirus Symptoms: An updated list of the most common COVID-19 symptoms

When will they be available?

The plan is that the public will be able to buy boots and a test of the Coronavirus home from Amazon. So far, the government has purchased 3.5 million fingerprick antibody tests, which could radically change the UK’s response to Covid-19. Since then, another 17.5 million tests have been tentatively ordered by other companies, including a UK-based company. While this is not sufficient for the UK population as a whole, it is believed that NHS staff and key workers are prioritized before further testing becomes available for mass testing.

Matt Hancock previously promised to test 100,000 British people a day

How reliable is the test?

Recently, it was suspected that the test could be universally valid, and Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Sunday that the test was not “enough enough”. Scientists recently Guardian Testing on the market has not yet been shown to be reliable enough. Some kits, which are said to be more than 90% accurate, appear to have been tested only in the hospital on patients with very serious symptoms. An expert Guardian In practice, the test was relatively insensitive and found to be more likely to be detected in 50-60% of people with mild symptoms (the group under test).

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What if I need a test now?

At this time, testing is only performed in hospitals with serious symptoms. People with mild symptoms are required to self-isolate at home and call 111 if the symptoms worsen.

More: Prince Philip makes an incredibly unusual statement during the COVID-19 crisis

What about private testing?

The UK Public Health Service does not recommend purchasing home kits, but due to their unreliability some products are on the market. Private clinics and laboratories sell anything from £ 120 to £ 395 per test, including the Private Harley Street Clinic, which was accused of offering the kit at the latter price. The clinic said in a statement released Monday that it “suspended” sales, in light of the government’s new commitment to test nationwide, but it provides a much needed service. And defended its actions.

However, the position of government and related agencies seems clear in private tests. A general medical counsel spokesman said, “Doctors have a clear, unproven, clinically unvalidated, and / or otherwise unreliable test for the safety and accuracy of the Covid-19 test. I hope it will not be provided or recommended. “

Antibody test

The test currently used in British hospitals is to see if someone currently has Covid-19, but the government has introduced an antibody test to see if someone is already infected with the virus. I also hope to confirm.

Work is currently underway to develop effective antibody tests, and diagnostic companies claim their products can deliver 46,000 results per day. Morlogic has announced that it will begin manufacturing the Covid-19 test, validated by the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and the University of London at St. George’s. The test was also sent to the British Public Health Service for formal verification.

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The British government had previously stated that it would not make tests available until accuracy was guaranteed. Secretary of Health Matt Hancock said 15 of the most promising antibody tests were tested, but none said they were good enough.

It is also clear at this time that the presence of antibodies ensures that you are immune. Dr. Maria Wanker-Hove, Head of Emerging Diseases at the World Health Organization, shows that while these tests measure antibody levels in the blood, “the individual is immune or protected from reinfection.” It states that there is no evidence.

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