PITTSBURGH — UPMC is one of dozens of medical systems and private laboratories working to develop an antibody test for the coronavirus. While many hope this could be a key reopening a major portion of Pennsylvania's economy, other medical experts warn it could provide a false sense of security since so much is still unknown.
“I had been skiing for a weekend in Colorado and I found out later that town had active cases at that time,” said Brianna Laffey, who received an antibody test.
In early March, Laffey started showing symptoms of coronavirus.
“I lost all sense of taste and smell for seven days and I had crazy lower back pain,” Laffey said.
Have questions about the spread of the coronavirus? We have an entire section dedicated to coverage of the outbreak. CLICK HERE for more.
She was never tested until April 20, When her doctor wrote a prescription to get an antibody test from the Quest Diagnostics in Green Tree.
The test determines if your body has built up antibodies to fight the virus.
“That's some relief that I know that I've now been through this or I could potentially donate blood to other people that are looking to get transfusions and things,” Laffey said.
But as the test slowly becomes available, some experts worry this could lead to a false sense of security and more spread of the coronavirus.
“It’s a situation where you need extremely high specificity that currently is not presented by many of these tests,” said Dr. Alan Wells, the clinical laboratories medical director for UPMC.
TRENDING NOW:
He said there are still plenty of unknowns, including whether someone who has recovered from coronavirus could still be a carrier.
“That's the conundrum for these tests. While they can determine whether someone's been exposed, they're not ready to say whether you're protected from getting the disease,” Wells said.
Quest diagnostics did not respond to requests for a comment on how many tests they’ve administered in western Pennsylvania. Information 11 investigates learned also hasn’t been shared with the Allegheny County Health Department.
In a statement, the county's communications director said:
“The Allegheny County Health Department understands that there has been some antibody testing in the county and is working to get this data. The Health Department is interested in the results and what it might tell us about the spread of COVID-19.”
We also contacted Pennsylvania Department of Health. A spokesman said they support antibody testing and getting more of it in Pennsylvania. However, they want to make sure any tests used are following the Food and Drug Administration’s guidelines.
© 2020 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/XCUXZC2XYZHCRGNNGKFEX6U3LQ.png)
