Prognosis
Abbott Test May Curb Virus Even Missing Some Cases, CDC Says
- Binax detected just 36% of infections in asymptomatic people
- CDC study found test was more accurate in people with symptoms
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Abbott Laboratories’ BinaxNOW, a 15-minute test for Covid-19, may miss nearly two-thirds of infections in those without symptoms, but its turnaround time and affordability make it a potentially useful tool for keeping the virus from spreading, according to a federal study.
The study evaluated results from 3,419 people tested in November with both BinaxNOW and the gold-standard PCR method that detects the genetic makeup of the virus in Pima County, Arizona. The result offers one of the first real-world examinations of how the two approaches stack up against each other.