In Minutes, Franklin Lab Can Tell If Someone Has Been Infected With Coronavirus
FRANKLIN (CBS) - At his lab in Franklin, Massachusetts, Dr. Greg Chiklis is running rapid coronavirus antibody tests on hundreds of local first responders. It's a brand new test he helped develop.
WBZ-TV watched as Chiklis processed a blood sample from a finger prick. He mixed it with a solution and let it sit for five minutes. Then he poured it onto a test strip for another ten minutes.
"So we're gonna just slide this in," he said, inserting the test into an electronic reader. Within seconds, it showed the sample was negative. "This person has been doing a good job with the social distancing," said Chiklis. A negative means the person was probably never infected. On the other hand, a positive test shows the person has probably built up a resistance to COVID-19.
Chiklis is the CEO of MRN Diagnostics, teaming up with the Texas-based Chembio Diagnostics for a rapid antibody test that just got emergency approval from the federal government. "When you think about going back to work, it just seems that with this virus, people want to know, have they been exposed," said Gail Page, a member of Chembio's Board of Directors.
Quest Diagnostics also just put out a government approved coronavirus antibody test that yields results in one to two days. "A consumer now can simply go online, request the test. We work with a third-party physician network to vet the orders and place the orders," said Quest Chief Medical Officer Jay Wohlgemuth.
Back in Franklin, Chiklis said his own clinical trial on first responders has shown about two-percent of those who never had any symptoms tested positive for antibodies.
Are COVID-19 positive people who have NO symptoms less contagious than we have feared? Interesting findings from this antibody testing researcher I spoke w/yesterday. Didn't have time to get it into my TV story. #wbz pic.twitter.com/EnR7vdO628
— Christina Hager (@HagerWBZ) April 29, 2020
He acknowledges that the accuracy of antibody testing has been called into question, and says it's something scientists are racing against the clock to figure out. "Every day we're challenged with new questions about COVID. Are we protected? Is it the right antibody response? Are we picking up all the donors? I'm very confident in this test," he said.