Routine Antigen Testing Is Not a Substitute for Health Care Worker Vaccination against SARS-CoV-2

Abstract

The utility of rapid antigen testing for SARS-CoV-2 is measured within the context for which it is applied; diagnostic accuracy must be considered in determining if rapid antigen testing is appropriate for the clinical situation. In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Microbiology , J.N. Kanji et al (J Clin Microbiol 59:e01411-21, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1128/JCM.01411-21 ) evaluate two rapid antigen tests that demonstrate high false-positive rates in asymptomatic healthcare workers. The assays may not be useful in situations where there is a shortage of staff, such as healthcare, since isolation would occur unnecessarily for these employees.

Analytical and clinical performances of seven direct detection assays for SARS-CoV-2

“…Concerns for false positives have also been reported for lateral flow antigen assays. In a screening study with 71,847 tests, the Abbott and BD direct antigen assays showed 30–77% false positive rates in a low prevalence setting (0.05%) [18] . Following these observations, it may be prudent to perform confirmatory RT-PCR tests in a low prevalence setting.…”