New rapid COVID-19 antibody test approved by Health Canada

By

Published February 16, 2021 at 7:23 pm

Health Canada has approved a test that can rapidly determine if someone has antibodies for COVID-19.

The Assure Tech Ecotest COVID-19, made by Verify Diagnostics, has been approved for point-of-care for the purpose of screening for antibodies for the virus.

The device was previously granted Emergency Use Authorization by the FDA in the U.S. last year, and since then, Verify Diagnostics has been working with Health Canada to bring the test north of the border—it is the first such test to be authorized for use in Canada.

“Antibody testing is key to understanding the prevalence of COVID-19 in our Canadian communities and, although complicated laboratory solutions are available to accomplish this, rapid testing offers an easy and inexpensive option to healthcare professionals and public health organizations.” Tim Salter, president of Verify Diagnostics, said in a news release.

“Use of these rapid tests have been proven effective in dozens of countries that we have provided solutions to and we are very happy to be able to now provide a solution for Canada,” he continued.

Antibody tests can be used as a way to measure the disease’s spread through communities, as well as the efficacy of vaccination programs.

“One of the unknowns related to SARS-CoV-2 vaccines is how long the immunization will remain effective against the virus,” Salter said.

“We hope that Canada will follow suit with some of the other governments and organizations that we are working with to monitor those that have received inoculations to better understand how long immunity against the virus will last,” he added.

insauga's Editorial Standards and Policies advertising