Huntington Family Medicine

07/11/2020

Join the HFM staff and wear your mask to help save lives!

05/12/2020

Dear Patients and Community,

I have received many questions about the difference between COVID-19 testing and antibody testing.

For the diagnosis of COVID-19 infection, we use a test that detects it's genetic material, called RNA. This is the kind of test used in drive-thru sites. It has been estimated they have a 30% false negative rate. That means that 30/100 people may test negative but actually have the infection.

Many folks have called saying they had a bad infection earlier but have gotten better and wonder if they had the virus. Some of these patients have asked about antibody testing. These tests check to see if your body has made a protein (called an antibody) to SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes COVID-19 infection. These proteins might protect against future infections, but this is yet to be scientifically proven. The problem with current antibody tests is there are significant false positive and negative rates. For example, the test may pick up other coronavirus strains than SARS-CoV-2. Because of the lack of their sensitivity and specificity, at this time we are not recommending antibody testing for our patients.

Stay safe and healthy. We are here if you need us!

Nalini Mattai M.D.

04/21/2020