Health Canada is Refusing to Allow Covid-19 Test

[treveller]

Health Canada is refusing to allow in Canada the sale of a $10, 15 minute blood test for Covid-19 antibodies. The same test can be sold in the US, Britain and the EU.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/heal...6U_s5emqSC3gvpFerY_2zrkHY8e1l67OYokbSKAGowuwQ

If sex workers could get their hands on this test and they test positive then they could return to work knowing that it is likely (not certain) that they cannot either contract or pass on Covid-19. As long as the incall is cleaned, both client and provider are likely safe and social distancing goals are met. What are the chances someone at the English Collective of Prostitutes, https://prostitutescollective.net/ , or anyone else in Britain, could ship tests to Canada?

 

[Lo-ki]

Why ain't I surprised.....
1. st. We will not be produce it.
2. nd. We will be sending it to CHINA for production...way cheaper that way.

 

[Mikehma]

Highly unlikely it's accurate. Testing for antigens and/or antibodies is not simple stuff.

 

[Billiam]

At this point it has not been determined whether those who have had the virus and recovered are then immune. Therefore the point of these tests is moot and of little value.

 

[treveller]

Highly unlikely it's accurate. Testing for antigens and/or antibodies is not simple stuff.

Sort of yes and sort of no. The technology behind these tests is arguably the most advanced technology our society has but it can be made into a dead simple and cheap device, thus the $10 cost for the test. Put blood and a bit of solvent at one end of a paper strip. It all wicks to the other end of the paper strip and 15 minutes later the coloured bars in the paper give you a positive or negative result. I think a trace of mass produced protein in the paper work the magic. Mostly guesses here so feel free to correct me. There are many tests that work the same way.

The level of accuracy for such tests doesn't need to be perfect as long as the accuracy is known. The problem with the covid-19 antibody test is that it is so new that the accuracy has not been determined yet but the experience with many other such tests suggests the accuracy will be high enough that the test is useful. It will take time to get data on how accurate the test is and what the correlation is between antibody level and immunity.

 

[treveller]

At this point it has not been determined whether those who have had the virus and recovered are then immune. Therefore the point of these tests is moot and of little value.

It's all a matter of degree. Even something that has a "little" value could be important to someone facing financial collapse from lack of work.

My understanding is that near everyone who recovers from a viral infection has some degree of immunity for a year or two at least and there is no reason why this virus would be any different. This even applies to ebola. Do you know of exceptions to this?

"Those who do recover [from ebola] develop antibodies that can last 10 years, possibly longer."
https://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/treatment/survivors.html