OC Health Officials Issue Warning Against Unapproved Coronavirus Test Kits
SANTA ANA (CBSLA) – With a major shortage nationwide in coronavirus testing kits, some people and companies have turned to producing their own, prompting Orange County health officials Thursday to issue a stern warning to residents against using tests that are unapproved by the Federal Drug Administration.
Unapproved tests can "produce false results and lead to unintended negative consequences for the individual and the broader community," O.C. Health O.C. Health Officer Dr. Nichole Quick told residents in a statement.
Quick said that a person with COVID-19 who gets a false negative using one of these non-approved test could in turn spread the virus to others.
CBS2 Thursday spoke to a Garden Grove doctor who is using a rapid serology test which uses blood to determine if an individual has the antibodies to fight COVID-19. Dr. Michael Dao told CBS2 his test is not meant to diagnose COVID-19, but identify those who may have been exposed to the virus and don't know it.
No serology tests have been approved by the FDA.
"There is currently no Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance on how to interpret or take public health action in response to a positive or negative COVID-19 serology result," The O.C. Health Care Agency said in its news release.
All U.S. healthcare agencies and public health and commercial labs currently use the standard Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test, which can detect the virus in a patient specimen obtained through a nasal or throat swab.
Meanwhile, drive-thru testing is slowly becoming more available across the Southland.
According to the CDC, COVID-19 — the disease caused by the coronavirus — is spread from person-to-person through close contact, usually within 6 feet, and mainly via respiratory droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
Symptoms include fever, cough and shortness of breath. People are likely most contagious when they are most symptomatic. Coronavirus can also be spread by touching contaminated surfaces and then touching your mouth, nose and eyes.
