Dr. Scott Miscovich of Premier Medical Group on O’ahu said results from antibody testing are showing a lower rate of COVID-19 positives than he expected.  Premier Medical Group has done hundreds of tests statewide for antibodies, which would show if somebody had been exposed to COVID-19, whether or not they ever developed symptoms or were diagnosed as having COVID-19.

Dr. Miscovich said he only has results from those whom Premier Medical Group has tested, and so far, both Maui and the Big Island have around a 1.4% positive rate.    He said he’s surprised, given the amount of tourists who were on those islands earlier in the year and the large number of tourism workers.

State Department of Health officials have repeatedly said they aren’t sure antibody tests are reliable.  But Dr. Miscovich said the antibody tests being used by doctors in the state are processed by Clinical Laboratories and Diagnostic Laboratories, which are using the most sophisticated Roche or Abbott Labs tests and have proven to be better than 99% accurate.  He said it’s the finger-stick quick result tests which may be only 50% accurate.

On May 14, the FDA issued a warning about the Abbott Labs ID Now test, the “quick test” that gives results in about 15 minutes.  The FDA says the tests may return false negatives.  Abbott Labs is disputing that.  Both Hilo Medical Center and Kona Community Hospital have those test machines.  Hilo Medical Center Public Information Officer Elena Cabatu says HMC is not using it, and Kona Community Hospital PIO Judy Donovan said they don’t have need for it right now.

Dr. Miscovich said those he encourages to get tested for antibodies include:

-Those who are close contacts of anybody with COVID-19, whether or not they were tested for the virus. Dr. Miscovich said it’s likely some of them had it, perhaps with no symptoms.

-Healthcare workers, people constantly exposed to those with COVID-19

-First responders, who may be exposed to those with COVID-19

-Front line tourism workers who are frequently exposed to those who may have COVID-19, such as TSA workers, flight attendants, cab drivers, Uber/Lyft drivers, people working in hotels who may have had contact back as far as January.

-Those who between January and March, when COVID-19 testing began in earnest, had coughs, or fever, or other symptoms of COVID-19, and may have tested negative for influenza or maybe were not tested at all. Dr. Miscovich said it is likely COVID-19 was in the community, but without testing at the time—there was no way to know.

For more on antibody testing, click here.

Photo is antibody testing–the blood draws–at Old Airport Gym on Friday, May 29, 2020.