Newly FDA-approved T-cell test could be big improvement over COVID-19 antibody screens
The Food and Drug Administration on Friday granted emergency use authorization to a first-of-its-kind T-cell test, which is aimed at detecting previous coronavirus infections.
Currently, antibody tests serve as the primary means for determining whether someone had COVID-19, but accuracy levels vary, and studies have shown antibody levels wane after a few months, which means the timing of the test is key. T-cells, another component of the body's immune system, generally have a longer memory, making them a strong candidate to provide people with a more reliable answer about past infections.
The test, which was launched by biotech firm Adaptive, reportedly involves extracting via T-cell DNA via blood draw. The DNA is then sequenced with Microsoft's artificial intelligence that will, ABC News reports, map out "the immune system's 'massive black box' data into navigable science."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Per ABC News, researchers are hopeful the T-cell test will be particularly useful for so-called COVID-19 longhaulers, who are still experiencing symptoms long after supposedly recovering from the virus. "The T-cell test has been really useful in this long tail of COVID to help patients establish where they are," William Li, the president of the Angiogenesis Foundation, told ABC News.
The test won't be cheap, however. It comes with a $150 out-of-pocket price tag. Read more at ABC News.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
ACA opens 2025 enrollment, enters 2024 race
Speed Read Mike Johnson promises big changes to the Affordable Care Act if Trump wins the election
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
McDonald's sued over E. coli linked to burger
Speed Read The outbreak has sickened at least 49 people in 10 states and left one dead
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Texas dairy worker gets bird flu from infected cow
Speed Read The virus has been spreading among cattle in Texas, Kansas, Michigan and New Mexico
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Dengue hits the Americas hard and early
Speed Read Puerto Rico has declared an epidemic as dengue cases surge
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US bans final type of asbestos
Speed Read Exposure to asbestos causes about 40,000 deaths in the U.S. each year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Seattle Children's Hospital sues Texas over 'sham' demand for transgender medical records
Speed Read Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton subpoenaed records of any Texan who received gender-affirming care at the Washington hospital
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Afghanistan has a growing female suicide problem
Speed Read The Taliban has steadily whittled away women's and girls' rights in Afghanistan over the past 2 years, prompting a surge in depression and suicide
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US life expectancy rose in 2022 but not to pre-pandemic levels
Speed Read Life expectancy is slowly crawling back up
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published