COVID-19 antibody test results could lead to bad behavioral patterns. /AP
COVID-19 antibody test results could lead to bad behavioral patterns. /AP
Antibodies are seen by many as the short-term answer to the fight against COVID-19 until a vaccine is found. If you test positive for them, it means you have had COVID-19 at some point and you are likely to be protected – at least for the moment – from getting it again.
But what could they do to people's behavior?
Firstly, antibody tests are likely to have at least two percent false positive and false negative results.
So those who were wrongly identified as not having had the virus might be kept in self-isolation unnecessarily.
And the two percent falsely identified as already having had the virus could be released back into normal life, despite being vulnerable to infection themselves or liable to infect others.
The UK's Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Behaviours warns there could be four sets of behavioral issues resulting from antibody tests. The findings came in a paper given to the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) committee which advises the UK government on its strategies against the virus.
Those who test antibody positive
People who test positive for antibodies, or are told they have already had the virus, could believe they have zero chance of becoming infected with COVID-19 in the future and could ignore future symptoms, such as a cough or a fever. They could also fail to self-isolate and continue to live their daily lives, increasing the chances of them transmitting infection.
This could cause the most severe consequences for front-line healthcare workers, but could affect anyone.
People who test antibody positive could reduce their hand hygiene and other measures to prevent the transmission or spread of COVID-19, believing they are now immune. That could lead to a further transmission between people.
People may also volunteer for activities, at work or in home life, that would expose them to COVID-19. This would include more trips to the supermarket or a customer-facing role at work. If the test result was incorrect, this could cause huge problems.
People who test Antibody Positive could begin to reduce their hand hygiene as they may believe they have zero chance of becoming infected. /AP
People who test Antibody Positive could begin to reduce their hand hygiene as they may believe they have zero chance of becoming infected. /AP
Those who test antibody negative
People who test antibody negative could respond by further reducing their social contact amid fears they could become infected. This will not be a threat in terms of infection but could have huge implications for a person's mental and physiological wellbeing.
Antibody negative people may try to avoid going to work as they may feel more vulnerable, either to avoid certain activities at work or to avoid work altogether.
The study says this could be a valid option for some, depending on flexibility of their work and availability of other staff.
Employer discrimination
There are fears that employers could discriminate as a direct result of their employee's antibody test status.
This could include preventing antibody negative people from returning to work or only taking on new staff who are antibody positive.
Work could also be allocated depending on your test status. For instance, customer-facing work could be given to those who are antibody positive.
People who test antibody positive could be allocated customer-facing job roles as they would be seen as 'safer'. /AP
People who test antibody positive could be allocated customer-facing job roles as they would be seen as 'safer'. /AP
System gaming
System gaming is the process through which people may come up with strategies to "game" the system in order to get the test result they require.
This could be because a certain test result is required to resume work.
Tactics could include deliberately seeking out infection by going into highly populated areas, not washing hands/wearing a mask, or purchasing a fake test result from commercial organizations that are selling unapproved tests.
Given that healthcare workers are provided with their own tests for free from their employer, this issue is more likely to occur in other work sectors.
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Could a COVID-19 antibody test lead to negative behavior? - CGTN
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