Every day, Le Parisien mobilizes to answer your questions around the coronavirus. Today we are interested in the questioning of "Domise", which asks us if we can take advantage of a blood test to be tested and know if we have been infected by the coronavirus.
Currently, screening for Covid-19 via the blood - which involves performing a serological test to detect the presence of antibodies to the disease - is not yet available to the general public. Serological tests are under development and approved. They "are not yet validated for the diagnosis or the search for immunity", told us the Directorate General of Health (DGS) on April 19.
However, some laboratories have already launched serological screening campaigns open to all. The Biolam group, which proposed it in the Oise from April 6, was saturated with requests within a few days. But the Ministry of Health "does not recommend the use of such tests because they can be unreliable and give false reassurance to possibly sick patients", we are told.
Screening in some Ehpad
In addition, it is not yet known whether these serological tests will first be offered via a standard blood test or via a simple blood test at the tip of a finger (as people with diabetes do to measure sugar levels, for example).
On the other hand, some Ehpad have already launched a generalized screening by blood test of their residents and staff, with the agreement and validation of the Regional Health Agency. On March 31, an experiment was launched, for example, at the Notre Maison residence in Nancy. The mayor of the city, Laurent Hénart, was then delighted with a "national first".
On April 14, a campaign of serological tests started in a dozen voluntary nursing homes located in the Haut-Rhin, announced the president of the department, Brigitte Klinkert.
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