As providers throughout the nation start to offer Serological (Antibody) Tests for COVID-19, federal and state officials say be cautious of the results.
Serological tests, which are more commonly known as antibody tests, are starting to become a tool in trying to answer the question of when society can return to work and resume normal activities.
But the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) along with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Wyoming Department of Health say the answers may be incomplete.
The FDA recommends that health care providers use thetests to detect antibodies to the coronavirus to help identify who may have been exposed or have recovered. But "health care providers should also be aware of the limitations of these tests and the risks to patients and the community if the test results are used as the sole basis to diagnose COVID-19."
Since the start of the pandemic many different antibody tests have been released. Not all of those tests have been evaluated and approved by the FDA. But the FDA is allowing these tests to be administered through the Emergency Use Authorization.
Wyoming Health Officer Dr. Alexia Harrist said we don't know how good these tests are.
"I think providers should be cautious. They should be cautious when choosing the types of tests that they run, make sure that they've been evaluated as being tests that are sensitive and specific for antibodies to this virus," said Harrist.
And then Harrist said there's not enough data yet to knowthat having antibodies definitively protects us from future infections.
"We also don't know much yet about what having antibodies to COVID-19 means. We still have a lot to learn about whether those antibodies really grant us immunity and mean that we're protected against future infections from COVID-19," said Harrist.
Harrist said providers offering these tests should be cautious in telling patients what they think the results might mean. She said the antibody test should not be used as the sole basis to diagnose or exclude a COVID-19 infection.
Have a question about this story? Contact the reporter, Kamila Kudelska, at kkudelsk@uwyo.edu.