USA: Doubts about the reliability of the corona test

Lisa Vogel studied departmental journalism with a focus on medicine and biosciences at Ansbach University and deepened her journalistic knowledge in the master's degree in multimedia information and communication. This was followed by a traineeship in the editorial team. Since September 2020 she has been writing as a freelance journalist for

More posts by Lisa Vogel All content is checked by medical journalists.

There are increasing doubts about the reliability of a corona rapid test in the USA, which is used in the White House, among other places. The US drug regulatory authority FDA warned on Thursday (local time) that the test system manufactured by the health company Abbott may give false results.

The FDA referred to several studies. Abbott only received emergency approval from the FDA for the test in March. US President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and top employees are currently being tested daily for an infection with the corona virus using the rapid test.

Frequently false negative results?

The system called "ID Now" should be able to use material from nasal swabs to detect an infection with Sars-CoV-2. The FDA expressed concern that this may lead to more false results: Infected people could possibly get a negative test result. You then think you are healthy and can unknowingly infect other people as a result.

The reliability of the test is not in doubt if it gives a positive result, it said. The FDA is also still in the review phase and is in direct contact with Abbott.

Wrong application influences the result

The company said it is currently investigating how to improve the validity of the results. It pointed out that so far users have reported a very low error rate. In addition, the device was not used properly in some studies. Errors in the handling, storage and transport of the system could influence the result. (lv / dpa)

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