Are COVID-19 test results masking important issues?

Abstract

Basic health and infection control measures are the main methods of protection against COVID-19. Patients are well informed about how practitioners should be conducting themselves, however, they may lose trust in clinicians who fail to demonstrate, and promote those same basic prevention measures. The broader COVID-19 strategy has included the rapid development and deployment of swabs and antibody tests. Flaws in testing fail to offer assurances due to false negatives while even true positives cannot guarantee future immunity as there is uncertainty regarding long-term antibody response. An understanding of human factors and an appreciation of the limitations of available tests could offer healthcare staff mechanisms to encourage safety.