PRESS STATEMENT
Use of Over-the-counter COVID-19 Test Kits
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The College has noticed that a variety of over-the-counter Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) self-test kits are being promoted in the market. We are concerned that the public could be misled by the results of these kits.
These over-the-counter test kits usually utilize pinprick blood samples to detect IgG or IgM antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Antibodies are produced over days to weeks after infection; the level and timing of response vary among individuals. The performance of these kits, including sensitivity and specificity (i.e. respectively whether the test can accurately exclude COVID-19 infection and whether a positive result is reliable to indicate actual...