Studies show that some rapid COVID-19 tests don't perform as well in children as they do in adults, meaning low-level infections in youth may go undetected, The New York Times reported.
In a study of 1,600 people cited by the Times, Abbott's rapid test Binax NOW detected 96.5 percent of COVID-19 infections in adults who had been confirmed positive with a slower lab test and 77.8 percent in people 18 years and younger. In asymptomatic people, it detected the virus in 70.2 percent of adults and 63.6 percent of children.
In another study published last month in Clinical Microbiology and Infection, another Abbott test called PanBio identified just 62.5 percent of infections in people 16 years or younger compared to 82.6 percent in adults.
The Binax NOW test wasn't tested on anyone younger than 22 years before Abbott submitted it for FDA authorization, according to the Times. Another Abbott test called ID NOW wasn't tested in anyone younger than 21.
A test called Veritor made by Becton Dickinson wasn't tested in anyone younger than 18 but has been publicly encouraged for use in schools, the Times reported.
Rapid tests aren't as sensitive as lab-based PCR tests, which means they don't pick up all low-level infections.
Many children "are going to be negative on rapid tests," Nira Pollock, MD, PhD, the associate medical director of the infectious diseases diagnostic laboratory at Boston Children’s Hospital, told the Times. "That impacts how we think about school settings and day care."
Read the full article here.