Taiwan researchers have developed a reagent that can be used to test if a person is protected against COVID. In contrast to previous testing methods, this reagent for antibodies against COVID does not require lab equipment to work. It can yield results in as little as 1.5 hours, with an accuracy rate of more than 90%, and could potentially shorten quarantine times for international travelers. This test has already obtained approval from the Ministry of Health and Welfare and could soon start mass production.
Taiwan has made another breakthrough against COVID. Medical researchers at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital have developed a reagent that can test for SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies much faster than before.
Huang Chung-guei
Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital
We have an automated machine system that carries out the test. In the future, with more data it will be more accurate. Currently, it’s 94% accurate, and it’s in line with the results we get in our P3 lab.
Currently, most nucleic acid tests for COVID measure the viral load of a sample collected from the respiratory tract. They take four hours to produce a result and the testing must be done in a lab. These tests have an accuracy rate reaching 90%. The new reagent can also show whether there are any neutralizing antibodies in blood plasma. It produces a result in just one to two hours, without the need of a lab. Its accuracy rate is 94%.
Chiu Cheng-hsun
Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital
For example, you want to go to another country. You might need to provide proof of a negative COVID test from three days before departing, proof of vaccination, and proof that you have neutralizing antibodies. It can show that you are not infectious and that you are protected. It can allow restrictions to get lifted sooner.
With the COVID virus mutating, countries around the world are racing to develop effective tests. Last June, the health ministry approved Taiwan’s first domestically developed antibody reagent. But until now, tests for neutralizing antibodies all still had to be done in P3 labs, requiring three to five days to produce a result. What’s more, samples had to be kept at negative 80 degrees Celsius. Now a new reagent has been developed to detect neutralizing antibodies quickly and accurately. The test can potentially be paired with PCR testing and vaccine certificates to shorten quarantines for arrivals in Taiwan. It’s another step forward toward pre-COVID international travel.
