U.S. employers wary of coronavirus 'immunity' tests as they move to
reopen
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[May 15, 2020]
By Caroline Humer and Timothy Aeppel
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. employers have
cooled to the idea of testing workers for possible immunity to the
coronavirus as they prepare to reopen factories and other workplaces.
Blood tests that check for antibodies to the new coronavirus have been
touted by governments and some disease experts as a way to identify
people who are less likely to fall ill or infect others. Italian
automaker Ferrari NV has made antibody testing central to its “Back on
Track” project to restarting factories.
But many U.S. companies are not planning to use them, relying on face
masks, temperature checks, social distancing, and diagnostic tests for
those with symptoms, employers and healthcare experts told Reuters.
Mercer, which advises companies on healthcare benefits, has surveyed
more than 700 U.S. employers in industries from high tech to retail to
energy, and found 8% of companies said they would include antibody tests
in plans to screen employees.
Interest in antibody tests from employers has fallen in recent weeks as
reports have suggested that it is too early to conclude that antibodies
to the new coronavirus translate into immunity. The American Medical
Association cautioned on Thursday that these tests do not determine an
individual's immunity.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2020/May/15/images/ads/current/humanesociety_sda022411.png)
"Many employers ... are realizing that antibody testing isn’t going to
be a silver bullet and really isn't going to bring them any value," said
David Zeig, a lead consultant on clinical services at Mercer.
Other employers worry about their liability if they administer and
interpret such tests, or are concerned about test costs and
availability. Some were spooked by a flood of tests that hit the market
before being reviewed by regulators for accuracy, which has contributed
to confusion over results.
A new antibody test from Roche Holding AG that has shown itself to be
highly accurate could potentially help answer questions about antibodies
and immunity and change corporate demand, but it has not done so yet,
consultants and companies said.
Governments, however, are interested in antibody tests, particularly if
they are accurate. Britain on Thursday said it is in talks with Roche
over buying tests that it could use to create a certificate of immunity
once there is a better understanding of the science.
Collective Health, a healthcare technology company that has built
back-to-work strategies for large companies, is advising employers to
use diagnostic tests, not antibody tests.
"There has been a proliferation of low-quality antibody tests and the
antibody tests themselves don't necessarily answer any questions about
immunity," said Rajaie Batniji, Collective Health’s chief health
officer.
GETTING BACK TO WORK
When General Motors Co, Ford Motor Co and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV
reopen production next week, they intend to offer diagnostic tests to
workers, not antibody tests. Officials at the Detroit carmakers said it
was because it was not clear what the antibody tests show.
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![](../images/051520pics/news_m27.jpg)
Shalonda Williams-Hampton, 32, has her blood taken by Northwell
Health medical workers for the antibody tests that detect whether a
person has developed immunity to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
at the First Baptist Cathedral of Westbury in Westbury, New York,
U.S., May 13, 2020. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
![](../images/ads/current/fitzpatrick_lda_SPONSOR_2017.png)
Amazon.com Inc’s on-site testing plan, now in development, does not
include antibody testing. Those views were echoed in interviews with
a handful of smaller U.S. manufacturers.
Shawn Kitchell, chief executive of Florida-based plastics
manufacturer Madico Inc, is not planning to use antibody tests for
his 250 employees. He questions their costs, accuracy, and the fact
that the timing of tests can lead to different results, requiring
multiple tries.
"How frequently would we need to test to make it safer for our
co-workers?" Kitchell said.
Employers are also wary of an unregulated U.S. market for antibody
tests. Since March, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has
allowed more than 200 tests into the market without regulatory
review to make them available quickly, opening the door to
questionable vendors and inaccurate tests, Reuters found.
Last week, the agency set a deadline for all vendors to prove to the
FDA that their tests work or remove them from the market. It has
also authorized two highly-accurate tests from Roche and Abbott
Laboratories, which are able to supply millions of tests per week.
One of the biggest U.S. testing providers, LabCorp, on Thursday said
it was rolling out a program to make diagnostic tests and antibody
tests available at workplaces.
LabCorp’s chief medical officer, Brian Caveney, said interest in
antibody testing is coming from companies in coronavirus hotspots,
such as New York, while other areas with fewer COVID-19 cases see
diagnostic testing as more important.
As the new FDA process shows which tests work and which don't, that
will help advance research on how many people recovering from
COVID-19 develop antibodies and at what level, and show if they are
truly immune to infection, said Howard Koh, a professor at the
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2020/May/15/images/ads/current/debbiesfloral_lda_MAY_2020.png)
“Until we go through those steps, I don’t see how we can translate
this for the typical person who wants to go back to work,” Koh said.
(Reporting by Caroline Humer, Timothy Aeppel and Krystal Hu in New
York and Ben Klayman in Detroit; editing by Michele Gershberg and
Nick Zieminski)
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