Coronavirus Latest: Dr. Rob Danoff Says It's 'A Concern' People Getting 'False Negative' Tests Back
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Throughout this outbreak, Eyewitness News has been checking in with health care professionals on the frontlines of the fight. Dr. Rob Danoff, who is overseeing a testing site for Jefferson Hospital in Bucks County, talks about the type of COVID-19 tests being done and answers viewer questions.
We've seen a lot of reports of people getting "false negatives." How accurate are the current COVID-19 tests?
That is, of course, a concern. The tests are supposed to be 95% accurate. Now, of course, that varies. It also depends are we using a major lab company that we know is reliable or some other lab. It is always important to find out how accurate is this count.
Viewer CathyJo Gokhale asks, "My granddaughter was sick in January with a high fever and breathing/upper respiratory issues. Tests for flu and strep came back negative. Could she have possibly had COVID-19?
Absolutely, a lot of us think it started in this area sometime around January. I will tell you why. A lot of us saw patients with what we thought was the flu and the flu test kept coming back negative. There is an antibody test that is coming out, it's out now but in little quantities. When we use that widely it will help, such as your viewer, to see if she had this before because we will see does she have the antibody.
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