Rapid test kits to assess COVID-19 immunity not advised - Thai PBS World Tonight [19th April 2021]

Thailand’s Food and Drug Administration has advised against the use of commercial rapid antibody test kits to assess immunity after vaccination, due to their unreliability and possible false results.

FDA Deputy Secretary-General Dr. Surachokee Tangvivat explained today that the rapid test kits may not be searching for the same antibodies triggered by COVID-19 vaccines, leading to possible false results.

He explained that the credible assessment of immunity levels after the vaccination must be carried out by medical experts and the tests analysed in a laboratory using complex equipment.

He also refuted a widely-shared report on social media, doubting the efficacy of the Chinese Sinovac vaccine, after rapid tests on several inoculated people showed negative results for antibodies.