Study Confirms Coronavirus Test Touted By Trump Produces Many False Negatives

The test received great attention when it received regulatory approval and was showed off by President Trump at the White House at the end of March

“Abbott has distributed more than 1.8 million ID NOW tests and the reported rate of false negatives to Abbott is at 0.02 percent,” Scott Stoffel, a spokesman for the company said.

He added that another study from the University of Detroit had found the test to be 98 percent accurate.

The NYU study’s authors said they decided to investigate the test because the speed with which it produced results was seen as as useful for their own institution, particularly the medical center’s emergency department.

By comparison, a test made by Roche returns results in 3.5 hours while one by Cepheid takes 45 minutes, and both have similar reliability, said the study authors.

These tests look for the virus’ genetic material and use a method that quickly makes copies to amplify an initially small sample to a level that is detectable.

The authors wrote their study “revealed low sensitivity with high false negative results by Abbott ID NOW platform,” adding this raised concern about “its suitability as a diagnostic tool for symptomatic patients.”

The test received wide attention when it received regulatory approval and was shown off by Trump at the White House at the end of March.