A viral claim has been circulating social media in recent days: the CDC has admitted that PCR tests used to determine whether someone has Covid-19 cannot even differentiate between coronavirus and the flu, and the agency will no longer use the tests after December 31st because of this.
So, is it true? The short answer: no.
The longer answer is as follows.
The claim is based on a CDC release from July that reads, in part:
“In preparation for this change, CDC recommends clinical laboratories and testing sites that have been using the CDC 2019-nCoV RT-PCR assay select and begin their transition to another FDA-authorized COVID-19 test. CDC encourages laboratories to consider adoption of a multiplexed method that can facilitate detection and differentiation of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza viruses. Such assays can facilitate continued testing for both influenza and SARS-CoV-2 and can save both time and resources as we head into influenza season.”
Some people on the internet took this to mean that the tests being used can detect but cannot differentiate between Covid and the flu.
The release continues:
“After December 31, 2021, CDC will withdraw the request to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of the CDC 2019-Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Real-Time RT-PCR Diagnostic Panel, the assay first introduced in February 2020 for detection of SARS-CoV-2 only.”
Again, people on the internet understood this to mean that the CDC will no longer be using PCR tests once 2021 ends.
Both claims are false and based on a misunderstanding (willful or otherwise) of what the CDC was saying.
This CDC didn’t pull authorization on the tests because they were failing or confusing Covid with influenza, but in order to transition toward using a new test that can diagnose both viruses, so that when someone is tested, they can be checked for both Covid and influenza at once.
And no, the CDC never “admitted” that the test can’t differentiate between the viruses; in fact, it say that it differentiates quite well between the two viruses.
Verdict on the viral claim: False.
Now, there are many people who think that all Covid tests – rapid and PCR – are fake. I’m not going to wade into that argument now. But what is true is that the claims that the CDC has admitted that PCR tests can’t tell the difference between Covid and the flu and that it is therefore pulling PCR tests is complete and utter rubbish.
I have not even seen this claim, but maybe someone can explain why in many families the children are testing positive for the flu and at the same time the adults in the same house are testing positive for COVID. I would love to hear if the doctors believe the tests are accurate and Adults and kids are catching different viruses or if the tests are maybe confused….
And now Israel says that they are going to do the herd immunity because the highly contagious variant, so at the end this is the way the right wing wanted in the first place, and as the CDC went from 14 days to give days it seems that they will agree at the end to just go on life normal and live with it like the flu, so kudos this it what the right wing said all along, it just takes them another year or two to catch up.
But many on the right wanted to take that approach with the more serious variants, and even before the vaccine was available! Both those variables changing makes this a very different scenario than before, in which case the herd immunity approach could be more feasible. (And Israel didn’t say they’re doing it, its just one of the options being considered).
According to what I heard, when Israel says they’re relying on “herd immunity”, they actually mean “HEARD immunity”, which means they will rely on mere hearsay, so that if Yankel merely heard from Shloime that Berrel has immunity, that will suffice for Berrel to be officially deemed immune to the virus, and Berrel will get an official card from the Israeli government saying that he has acquired “HEARD immunity.”
I might be a bit slow but doesn’t the Wording “the CDC encourages laboratories to consider adoption of a multiplexed method that can facilitate detection and the differentiation of sars cov 2 and influenza viruses.” Seem to mean that the old testing method does not differentiate between between influenza and sars?
No, it means that the old Covid-19 pcr test only tested for Covid, and no other virus and you had to get a second swab and use a different test to test for flu. The new test will be able to test for Covid and flu with 1 swab and test.
This does not mean the PCR can’t differentiate, it means the PCR only sees Covid, not Flu, and the Flu test only sees Flu not Covid.
The multiplexed method would allow ONE test to see/diagnose BOTH.
The CDC said the at home test may not recognize the new omicron variant therefore the test could be a False negative. I don’t know how there could be herd immunity when you can get these covid viruses more than once.
To Berish: no, the word “multiplexed” is the key, as the author explained – they want to start using a test that can test for both flu and covid at the same time, with one swab instead of entirely separate tests.