GOVERNMENT ministers have issued a call-to-arms to private companies to create a home antibody test to help end the lockdown. Biotech companies will be asked to work with each other to produce a fi…
Britain is now looking to its domestic producers to come up with a working test.: "We have some of the finest scientific minds in the world working in different areas and we want to bring people together to deliver these tests."Antibody tests would give a clearer picture of who has had the virus and therefore immune to it.to indicate their coronavirus status, and gradually get people out of lockdown.
The government refers to them as the 'have you got it' antigen test or the 'have you had it' antibody test.Antigens are found on the surface of invading pathogens, including coronavirus. Samples are taken using a swab - which resemble a large cotton bud - from deep inside the nose and throat before being sent off to a lab for testing.
Anyone who has already had the illness is presumed to be immune to getting it again - at least, in the intermediate term. Dr Hilary Jones, a GP and resident doctor on Good Morning Britain, explained that it works "almost like a pregnancy test, except you need a drop of blood". "There are testing manufacturers who we think could help with this, which of course would be great if we could have a home-produced test."Public Health England has developed a lab-based antibody test being used at a research programme, but ministers are hoping for a finger-prick test that could be sent out to homes in bulk and give results in minutes.
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