The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) acknowledged Thursday that it is combining the results from viral and antibody COVID-19 tests when reporting the country‘s testing totals, despite marked differences between the tests.
First reported by NPR‘s WLRN station in Miaimi, the practice has drawn ire from U.S. health experts who say combining the tests inhibits the agency‘s ability to discern the country‘s actual testing capacity.
(20.05.2020)
A nationwide analysis of COVID-19 data released this week shows broad discrepancies between what some states are reporting about testing for the novel coronavirus to the public, and what is being reported by the CDC. The analysis lists Florida as “the most extreme case” of testing discrepancies between what the state and the federal government are reporting.
Asked about the discrepancy, the CDC told WLRN that it is lumping together antibody tests along with tests for active COVID-19 infections, in an apparent conflation of its own antibody testing definitions.