The NEED for Rapid Antigen Tests In spite of what the bashers and uninformed suggest, the need for rapid sntigen tests is still monumental, even in the US where they just hit the milestone of 100 million vaccinated. AcuVid will clearly be the test device of choice because of accuracy, cost and ease of use. The following are excerpts from articles written within the last few weeks.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(21)00048-7/fulltext
WHO recommends a minimum of 80% sensitivity and 97% specificity for antigen-detection rapid diagnostic tests (Ag-RDTs), which can be used for patients with symptoms consistent with COVID-19.
....from the same research paper
When the likelihood of having COVID-19 is low, such as for asymptomatic individuals in low prevalence settings, for travel, return to schools, workplaces, and mass gatherings, Ag-RDTs with high negative predictive values can be used with confidence to rule out infection.(February 21, 2021)
https://www.macleans.ca/news/rapid-tests-for-covid-19-are-crucial-for-canadas-pandemic-recovery-say-experts/
"If people want to keep things open, the only way to safely do that... is to do regular testing" (February 24, 2021)
https://www.modernhealthcare.com/safety-quality/diagnostic-developers-hedge-coronavirus-rapid-antigen-tests-citing-conflicting-fda
"With rapid antigen tests for SARS-CoV-2 slow to come to market, officials at the US Food and Drug Administration have tried to signal via a number of public comments that the agency would be flexible regarding test performance requirements and use models." (March 5, 2021)
There are many more ....but the Lancet research paper probably spells it out best ....and with AcuVid exceeding expectations by WHO for both sensitivity and specificity it looks exciting times for both investors and the world at large could be just around the corner.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend fellow longs!!!