Current Events > A positive antibody test doesn't mean Covid-19...

(+) Yeah! (+)

• A positive test result shows you may have antibodies from an infection with the virus that causes COVID-19. However, there is a chance a positive result means that you have antibodies from an infection with a virus from the same family of viruses (called coronaviruses), such as the one that causes the common cold.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/testing/serology-overview.html

So theres a likelihood that numbers are inflated because the antibody tests detects ALL strains of coronaviruses. In other words: the antibody test is useless for Covid detection.


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https://www.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#testing

Disclaimer: Data are provisional and subject to change. When launched on May 8, 2020, the data presented on this page were aggregate data reported to CDC from state health departments and territorial jurisdictions and represented all laboratory tests by state. Currently, there are two types of tests availableviral tests (tests for current infection) and antibody tests (tests for past infection). These tests often have different uses, which can present challenges for interpretation. Although antibody tests only account for a small proportion of cumulative testing nationally at this time, it has recently become more widely available, and CDC is working to differentiate those tests from the viral tests. We will report this information, differentiated by test type in future updates to this website. States and CDC are rapidly moving to a more detailed reporting format, known technically as line level data (each line in the file is a single laboratory test), which will enable CDC to display viral test data and serologic test data separately on the COVID Data Tracker. Given that this map shows total tests by state, some states may have included antibody tests in recent submissions of their total test counts. At a minimum, the following states or jurisdictional health authorities have excluded antibody tests in their reports to CDC and the totals above represent only viral testing: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, USVI, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, West Virginia, and Wyoming. The number of states that have excluded antibody testing from their total test counts will continue to increase, and CDC will update this list to provide clarity.

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