What the U.S. can learn from India's rapid coronavirus testing efforts

(Image credit: INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP via Getty Images)

last updated 23 August 2020

India scaled up its coronavirus testing over a two-month period starting in June by relying on faster, cheaper antigen tests. At first glance, that's a positive development and a strategy the United States is also considering as the pandemic continues, The Associated Press reports. At the same time, however, there's a sense that India has become overly reliant on the antigen tests, which are also less accurate than slower, more expensive lab tests.

The problem isn't the antigen tests themselves since their shortcomings are well understood. Rather, India seemingly hasn't been retesting enough patients who have tested negative even though the country's health officials are recommending the practice, particularly for those who have symptoms. Between June 18 and July 29, court documents reportedly show that in Delhi state only 0.5 percent, or 1,365 of the more than 260,000 people who tested negative, were retested. Plus, there's been a decline in use of more precise lab tests, the figure falling from 11,000 per day to just 5,400.

Dr. Ashish Jha, director of Harvard University's Global Health Institute, said combining data from the two types of tests shouldn't be used to determine that infections are going down in India since using less accurate tests will automatically drive the numbers south, especially if retesting is limited. Going forward, large countries struggling with outbreaks like the U.S. and India will likely need to strike a balance between speed and precision by continuing to rely on accurate lab tests and get retested regularly when using antigen tests. Read more at The Associated Press.

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.