1/ Bored in the house and in the house bored? Same, let& #39;s chat about antibody testing. I know you& #39;ve been hearing comments like these. @Newsy

2/ You& #39;ve also probably seen headlines like these https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⬇️" title="Downwards arrow" aria-label="Emoji: Downwards arrow"> @Newsy

3/ It& #39;s nice to hear some semblance of positive, forward-moving news when it comes to figuring this all out. But we can& #39;t leave out important context. Wash those hands and let& #39;s inform ourselves. #fightingcovid19 @Newsy

4/ SO OFF THE BAT, antibody tests will NOT tell you if you have covid-19.https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👎🏽" title="Thumbs down (medium skin tone)" aria-label="Emoji: Thumbs down (medium skin tone)">
They DO tell you if you& #39;ve been exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus OR if you& #39;ve recovered from covid-19 infection. https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👍🏽" title="Thumbs up (medium skin tone)" aria-label="Emoji: Thumbs up (medium skin tone)"> @Newsy #fightingcovid19

5/ pros according to FDA:
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="➡️" title="Rightwards arrow" aria-label="Emoji: Rightwards arrow">helps tell us who can donate plasma as possible therapy for super sick patients
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="➡️" title="Rightwards arrow" aria-label="Emoji: Rightwards arrow">may tell us if those with antibodies are less susceptible to infection
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="➡️" title="Rightwards arrow" aria-label="Emoji: Rightwards arrow">and IF they are at lower risk, for how long
(bc re-exposure to a virus is a thing!)

6/ Cons: ALL of these pros depend on the antibody test being ~accurate~
And right now, more than 90 antibody tests on the market entered w/o prior review from FDA. @washingtonpost reported first, check ithttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⬇️" title="Downwards arrow" aria-label="Emoji: Downwards arrow"> https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/04/19/fda-antibody-tests-coronavirus-review/">https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/20...

7/ Btw the @US_FDA acknowledges this issue. It said it& #39;s working with @NIH and @CDCgov on a & #39;validation project& #39; to identify the most promising antibody tests. Especially when you got the fakes https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🐍" title="Snake" aria-label="Emoji: Snake">trying to profit off this pandemic. @Newsy #fightingcovid19

8/ I asked former FDA Commissioner @DavidAKesslerMD if this is problematic. Here& #39;s what he told me. @Newsy #fightingcovid19

9/ So at THIS point antibody tests can give:
- false positives
- false beliefs of immunity
If/when we secure accurate tests, we& #39;ll STILL need to find a way to significantly increase antibody testing availability.
@Newsy

10/ Conclusion: If a decision on reopening state economies is based on antibody testing... please keep this thread in mind.
If you made it this far... https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⬇️" title="Downwards arrow" aria-label="Emoji: Downwards arrow"> @Newsy #FightingCOVID19