Testing2 May 2020 17:23
In the second part of the programme (REACT-2), a number of different antibody tests will be assessed for their accuracy and ease of use at home.
The antibody tests will first be carried out on volunteers from Imperial Healthcare NHS Trust who are known to have had the virus to establish their accuracy. Three hundred public volunteers will also be given a sample test to self-administer, which requires them to place a finger prick of blood in a cassette, add a dye and read off the result, to assess its acceptability and whether they understand the guidance on how it is to be used.
If successful, the test will then be distributed to a larger cohort of up to 10,000 people. The aim is solely to ensure that people can properly self-administer the test, rather than to provide an accurate assessment of antibody levels.
A further stage will involve up to 5,000 key workers, who will both self-test and have the test administered by a health professional. These results will also be compared with the results of blood samples from participants tested in the laboratory. This will provide more information about the accuracy of the tests.
If antibody self-testing is found to work with a high degree of accuracy, acceptability and usability, it will be rolled out to 100,000 people later this year, to provide an indication of the prevalence of COVID-19 based on the presence of coronavirus antibodies.
Professor Tim Orchard, Chief Executive at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, said:
We are delighted to take part in this programme and contribute to efforts to improve COVID-19 testing in the NHS. Community testing will be important in ongoing efforts to tackle the pandemic, potentially easing the burden on health workers and freeing up resources in our health system.
Sign In
Follow the stocks
