ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Antibody tests will soon be available at the Orange County Convention Center.
Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Wednesday that health care workers and first responders would be the first to get their fingers pricked.
“We have 200,000 tests, and we have more on the way,” DeSantis said.
Leaders hope the antibody tests can help reveal who’s ever had COVID-19, and who might now be immune.
The state-run testing site in Miami began to offer those tests Wednesday.
“This is important and I think we're going to need to continue to do the antibody testing,” DeSantis said.
Read: Antibody tests: What are they, and what are the risks?
However, Dr. Craig Deligdish, chief medical officer at Omni Healthcare in Melbourne, has a word of caution about the tests.
“Some of the antibody tests have come under a great deal of scrutiny because they have not been validated,” he said.
Starting this week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is requiring every company selling an antibody test to submit data showing how accurate its test is, by next week.
Read: Antibody testing underway at Volusia County Fairgrounds
Last month, the FDA waived its formal approval process of antibody tests because that process could take more than a year.
Instead, the FDA trusted more than 100 companies to sell their tests with disclaimers. Since then, officials say some companies have marketed “fraudulent test kits.”
“Consumers need to be very educated, knowledgeable about what tests they're actually receiving,” said Deligdish.
The tests offered by Florida are being manufactured by Cellex, the governor’s office said.
Cellex’s test data has been reviewed by the FDA, which is a critical distinction since inaccurate tests could have dangerous implications.
“You're told that you're immune but you're not immune and you're behaving as if you are immune, then you're putting yourself and others at risk,” Deligdish said.
Omni Healthcare has been offering antibody tests that it independently validated for almost three weeks. After testing close to 3,000 people, only 3% have tested positive for the antibodies, Deligdish said.
“In Brevard County, it means that most people have not had the virus, and means also that they are at risk,” he said.
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