The False Hope of Antibody Tests
The immunity tests were supposed to be a “game changer,” but they are instead revealing that the majority of Americans are still vulnerable to COVID-19 infection.
by Sarah Zhang
Apr 28, 2020
4 minutes
Editor’s Note: The Atlantic is making vital coverage of the coronavirus available to all readers. Find the collection here.
For months, the lack of testing for the novel coronavirus in the United States has allowed, ironically, a small glimmer of hope: The official number of COVID-19 cases, currently 957,875, is almost certainly too low.
If people who want to get tested can’t get tested, and if people who are asymptomatic never think to get tested, then it stands to reason that many more Americans must be immune to COVID-19 than presently known. The only way to find the true number is; other countries have even proposed using them for that would allow the immune to return to work.
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