U.S. employers wary of coronavirus 'immunity' tests as they move to reopen

[turbinetree]

Source: Reuters

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.

(This story has been refiled to change spelling to Zieg from Zeig in paragraph six)

Reporting by Caroline Humer, Timothy Aeppel and Krystal Hu in New York and Ben Klayman in Detroit; editing by Michele Gershberg and Nick Zieminski

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-employers-testing/u-s-employers-wary-of-coronavirus-immunity-tests-as-they-move-to-reopen-idUSKBN22R1O9?il=0

[no_hypocrisy]

1. Could Covid-19 become a new claim for Workers Comp?

[turbinetree]

2. Good question..................there really is no Plan B........................or C for that matter

if the individual survives, because some of the people have more disabilities to contend with.........and how do you file that under a employer claim, will the insurance company of the contract for the company accept that claim, the state, because after all they wanted you to come / get back to work..............

[DBoon]

8. Yes, at least in CA

I believe if you catch it while on the job, it does qualify

[beachbumbob]

3. testing for antibodies would make it safer for the employer on every level once we have

a legitimate testing in place. I would make it mandatory.

[Rebl2]

4. I would

think for most companies that would be costly. Many have already lost a lot of money and to have to pay for testing it just won’t be possible.

[abqtommy]

5. Tests are good, but only if they're ACCURATE! Let's be real about this!

[csziggy]

7. That's what I was thinking

Many of the tests have no proven track record or the record indicates a high false result rate.

In addition, it is not yet known that the presence of antibodies indicate a lasting immunity to Covid-19. There have been reports (not fully studied) that people have re-infected. And reports that there is more than one strain of Covid-19 with no indication that exposure to one strain conveys immunity to the other.

[BarbD]

6. Why do I have the feeling nobody knows what the hell they're doing?

Guess we're all on our own.

[SWBTATTReg]

9. Maybe there is some fear of abuse of such results, resulting from the testing, e.g.,

ID who is susceptible to cancer, or who is HIV positive, or etc. Issues that really have nothing to do w/ CV issues. The CV tests themselves are also being questioned too, their accuracy and validity.

[Politicub]

10. There is no test for immunity. They should be wary.

There are antibody tests, but having the virus once does not mean that someone will have long-term immunity.

No credible authority has said that anyone has lasting immunity. They just don’t know and won’t know for a while.

[roamer65]

11. THIS.

Right now, an antibody test is really only useful to see if your body has encountered the virus.