We’re several months into the COVID-19 pandemic, and testing is vital to preventing the spread of the novel coronavirus. The latest edition of Periodic Graphics in Chemical and Engineering News looks at how current diagnostics work and what they tell us. Click to view the full graphic on the C&EN site.
Last week, we looked at what coronavirus antibody tests can and can’t tell us. In part 2 of this series of graphics on antibody testing, we look at how the tests work to arrive at their results. As we’ll see, there’s not only one type of antibody test and they can vary in accuracy and the time they take to produce results.
Have you already had COVID-19? Even if you’ve had symptoms consistent with it, you may not know for certain if you didn’t have a test at the time. But newly approved antibody tests may be able to tell you if you had the infection. What exactly can these tests tell us? Part one of this two-parter on antibody tests takes a look.