How Two Tests Can Help Contain COVID-19 and Revive the Economy
Faced with COVID-19 (Coronavirus), countries are taking drastic action based on little information. Two tests can help governments shorten and soften economically costly suppression measures while still containing the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) p...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Policy Note |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2020
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/766471586360658318/How-Two-Tests-Can-Help-Contain-COVID-19-and-Revive-the-Economy http://hdl.handle.net/10986/33583 |
| Summary: | Faced with COVID-19 (Coronavirus),
countries are taking drastic action based on little
information. Two tests can help governments shorten and
soften economically costly suppression measures while still
containing the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The
first—a PCR assay—identifies people currently infected by
testing for the presence of live virus in the subject. The
second—an antibody test—identifies those rendered immune
after being infected by searching for COVID-19-specific
antibodies. The first test can help contain the disease
because it facilitates the identification of infected
persons, the tracing of their contacts, and isolation in the
very early stages of an epidemic—or after a period of
suppression, in case of a resurgent epidemic. The second can
help us assess the extent of immunity in the general
population or subgroups, to finetune social isolation and to
manage health care resources. Wide application of the two
tests could transform the battle against COVID-19
(Coronavirus), but implementing either on a large scale in
developing countries presents challenges. The first test is
generally available, but needs to be processed in adequately
equipped laboratories with trained staff. The second test is
easy to perform and can be processed quickly on the spot,
but at this stage it is produced and available only on a
limited basis in a few countries. This policy brief reviews
the use of both tests, suggests strategies to target their
use, and discusses the benefits and costs of such
strategies. If PCR assay testing, together with tracing and
isolation, helps reduce the duration of suppression measures
by two weeks, and antibody testing allows one-fifth of the
immune return to work early, the gain could be about 2
percent of national income, or about $8 billion for a
country like the Philippines. Because the estimated economic
benefits of the tests are likely to far outweigh the cost,
the international community must help countries develop the
capacity to process the first test and procure the second. |
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