Coronavirus: why antibody tests may miss a quarter of cases

New research suggests ‘game-changing’ tests bought by UK government may be less accurate than previously thought

Testing for coronavirus antibodies
New research suggests ‘game-changing’ tests bought by UK government may be less accurate than previously thought
(Image credit: 2020 Getty Images)

A test for Covid-19 antibodies that health officials have described as “100% accurate” may be giving incorrect results for as many as a quarter of people who have had the virus, an independent analysis suggests.

The UK government ordered ten million of the tests, made by Swiss company Roche, last month after Public Health England (PHE) vouched for their accuracy.

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