HOME TESTING
Are coronavirus home test kits on sale and where can I buy them?
GAME-changing home test kits could help combat the spread of Covid-19 - by revealing if someone has recovered from the deadly disease.
The antibody test looks for specially designed proteins, known as antibodies, in the blood - which will be able to tell whether you've already been exposed to Covid-19.
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Currently, these tests are not available in the UK as the Government had previously hoped, but could be out as soon as next month.
What is a home coronavirus test?
Accurate home coronavirus tests are currently not available in the UK - with scientists still validating them to ensure they give accurate results.
This means that any tests currently in circulation are unreliable.
The tests that could potentially be used at home in the future and are being trialled are known as antibody tests.
When a person gets infected with Covid-19, the body starts making specially designed proteins called antibodies in response - as a way to fight the infection.
After they recover, those antibodies float in the blood for months, maybe even years.
That's the body's way of defending itself in case it becomes infected with the virus again.
So an antibody test specifically looks for antibodies which will be able to tell whether you've already been exposed to Covid-19.
Anyone who has already had the illness is presumed to be immune to getting it again - at least, in the intermediate term.
This would allow them to go back to work safe in the knowledge that they are unlikely to become infected again or pass the virus on.
The check that has been developed for Covid-19 is a finger-prick blood test, with the samples sent to laboratories and results available within a few days.
Dr Hilary Jones, a GP and resident doctor on Good Morning Britain, explained that it works "almost like a pregnancy test, except you need a drop of blood".
These tests are being developed by several different firms and Public Health England (PHE) is also working on its own test.
When will coronavirus home tests be available?
Coronavirus testing is still not adequately accurate for the UK standards - with scientists saying the UK are still "weeks away" from getting accurate antibody testing kits.
Professor Karol Sikora, who is leading the trials, said results from the first week had been “mixed”.
He said: “The good news is they work, but early results suggest only ten per cent of people tested positive.”
He claimed that this is because some sufferers are not producing antibodies to beat the virus — with their bodies instead relying on other immune mechanisms.
Tests need to be validated to ensure they give accurate results, so we don't end up wasting money and having to retest due to false readings.
Once these tests pass laboratory checks, they will eventually become available to everyone.
The current plan is to have coronavirus home tests out on general sale by May, however Health Secretary Matt Hancock did say that there would be "bumps in the road".
Will I be able to buy them on Boots and Amazon?
The plan is that we will eventually be able to buy coronavirus home tests through reliable retailers like Boots and Amazon.
But, the Government have made it clear that, at first, those tests will not be available for the public to buy.
Instead, Boots and Amazon will be used to distribute tests to NHS workers and other critical workers who are self-isolating - along Government lines.
NHS staff and key workers - like doctors and nurses - will be prioritised to enable people to go back to work.
Prof Sharon Peacock, from the National Infection Service, said they will be sold for a small fee or given away for free.
She told the Science and Technology Committee: “Once we are assured that they do work, they will be rolled out into the community.
“Once the bulk of the tests arrive they will be distributed into the community, where there will be a mechanism to order a test via Amazon.
“In the near future people will be able to order a test that they can test themselves or go to Boots, or somewhere similar to have their finger prick test done.”
Coronavirus testing: What is the difference between antigen and antibody tests?
Coronavirus tests are key to getting a clearer idea of the scale of the outbreak in the UK and getting a handle on it.
In recent days, there's been a lot of talk about the two different types of tests that the government are ramping up.
The government refers to them as the 'have you got it' antigen test or the 'have you had it' antibody test.
Here we explain the difference between the two...
What is an antigen test?
Antigens are found on the surface of invading pathogens, including coronavirus.
Testing for antigens can determine whether someone is currently carrying the virus and are actively infectious.
The NHS is currently using antigen tests in hospitals to determine if someone is currently infected with Covid-19.
Samples are taken using a swab - which resemble a large cotton bud - from deep inside the nose and throat before being sent off to a lab for testing.
Most labs use a method called the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which takes several hours to get a result.
It can take days for labs to run the tests and tell people their result.
Several companies are working on ways to fast track this type of testing.
What is an antibody test?
When a person gets infected with antigen, the body starts making specially designed proteins called antibodies in response - as a way to fight the infection.
After they recover, those antibodies float in the blood for months, maybe even years.
That's the body's way of defending itself in case it becomes infected with the virus again.
So an antibody test specifically looks for antibodies which will be able to tell whether you've already been exposed to Covid-19.
Anyone who has already had the illness is presumed to be immune to getting it again - at least, in the intermediate term.
This would allow them to go back to work safe in the knowledge that they are unlikely to become infected again or pass the virus on.
The check that has been developed for Covid-19 is a finger-prick blood test, with the samples sent to laboratories and results available within a few days.
Dr Hilary Jones, a GP and resident doctor on Good Morning Britain, explained that it works "almost like a pregnancy test, except you need a drop of blood".
These tests are being developed by several different firms and Public Health England (PHE) is also working on its own test.
They still need to be validated to ensure they give accurate results.
How can I get tested if I think I have symptoms?
Currently, Public Health England is only testing patients for Covid-19 in hospital with nasal swabs.
This test, known as an antigen test, only shows whether someone has the virus - and not whether they have already recovered from it.
Those with minor symptoms are being asked to self-isolate at home for at least a week and call 111 if your condition worsens.
If you are experiencing chest pains or shortness of breath then call 999.
If you're an NHS worker who has been ill or has family who have been ill you can be tested at designated sites at the moment.
However, it was today revealed that frontline workers are set to be tested for coronavirus in mobile units after out of town drive-through centres proved a flop.
Ministers will now deploy 48 trucks to Covid-19 hotspots closer to homes in a bid to hit their target of 100,000 tests a day by the end of the month.
Why are the tests delayed?
Several of the antibody kits the Government were hoping to release have failed accuracy tests - with three in four positive results being missed.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock admitted himself the Government still doesn't have a reliable antibody kit it can use - despite promising to ramp up testing by the end of the month.
Mr Hancock told BBC Radio 4: "I think that the antibody test, the blood test, at the moment we haven't got a reliable home test.
"If we manage to get one then that can be easily replicated and we can get into even higher figures, much higher figures."
Scientists need to be sure that it works as efficiently as possible, then production needs to be scaled up and tests need to be distributed to those most in need, who also need to be identified.
All of this takes time.
NHS staff will be prioritised, but then the rest of us can hopefully start buying them and registering as immune.
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What's the Government's five-point testing plan?
The Government has set out a five point plan to get Brits tested for coronavirus.
Matt Hancock said the aim is to get 100,000 people tested a day by the end of April - and 250,000 after that.
The five points are:
- A vow to carry out 25,000 swab tests a day in NHS hospitals and PHE labs to test patients for Covid-19, by the end of April - up from 10k a day now.
- Creation of new swab testing capacity with help of commercial partners including Amazon, Boots and universities in new labs and testing sites for NHS staff and their families.
- 'Game-changing' antibody tests to tell if people have had coronavirus, and are immune to it. Finger-prick blood test takes as little as 20 minutes, and Government is working with nine companies to test whether they work. But could take up to 28 days to show best results.
- Virus surveillance, using the antibody test to understand the rate of infection and how the virus is spreading across the UK. Key to helping us exit the crisis.
- Build the British diagnostic industry "at scale" - with the pharmaceutical industry, including major drugs firms Astra Zeneca and GSK.
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