There is a growing concern amongst scientists that COVID-19 test kits are not 100% accurate as they are presenting some false-negative results, Aljazeera reports.
According to the publication, the results of that could have devastating implications as the world is trying to curb the spread of the pandemic and open up economies as a major global recession looms.
Priya Sampathkumar, an infectious diseases specialist at Mayo Clinic spoke to AFP about why some of the results are inconclusive and why there are some false-negative results and said:
there are a lot of things that impact whether or not the test actually picks up the virus,It depends on how much virus the person is shedding (through sneezing, coughing and other bodily functions), how the test was collected and whether it was done appropriately by someone used to collecting these swabs, and then how long it sat in transport
Another scientist Daniel Brenner, an emergency physician at Johns Hopkins Hospital also expressed his concern about reported false-negative results and said:
the real fear of that is people who are given a false negative test and then decide that they’re safe to go around their daily life and go out and expose people
More: Aljazeera
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