August 20, 2020

Information given by Websites Selling Home Self-Sampling COVID-19 Tests An Analysis of Accuracy and Completeness

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Testing and Treatment

Keywords (Tags): public health, testing

• [Preprint, not peer-reviewed] Taylor-Phillips et al. reviewed 27 websites selling home self-sampling and testing kits for COVID-19 (39 tests in UK and 2 tests in US), of which 23 offered molecular virus testing services and 18 offered antibody testing services. They report that 22% tests were provided with the name or manufacturer, 76% included information about when to use, 71% provided test accuracy measures, and 49% provided information about how to interpret results. Nine (39%) websites selling molecular virus tests explained that people who tested positive should self-isolate, and 8 (35%) explained that people testing negative may still have the disease. Twelve (67%) websites selling antibody tests explained that testing positive does not necessarily confer immunity from future infection. Both US websites selling molecular viral tests have approval from the FDA for home sampling during the COVID-19 pandemic and included information about the eligibility checks required prior to purchase or prior to test processing.

Taylor-Phillips et al. (Aug 19, 2020). Information given by Websites Selling Home Self-Sampling COVID-19 Tests An Analysis of Accuracy and Completeness. Pre-print downloaded Aug 20 from https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.08.18.20177360