It depends on the jurisdiction. My county health department does not include antibody tests. They only report confirmed COVID-19 cases, with the nose swab and a PCR.
I won't claim my entire state does this, because I don't follow the 200+ counties. But, my state mandates that all confirmed cases require a PCR test. They have a separate classification for ""probable" cases, and a positive antibody test is only considered "probable" if the symptoms meet the clinical criteria.
Some counties in my state may be combining "confirmed" and "probable" cases in their reporting. But, my county does not.
Yes, you did. I was expounding on your point, using my particular county as an example.
My county health department posts a summary of confirmed cases and confirmed deaths on Facebook every day. And nearly every day, someone that just started reading it asks about antibody tests.
I think the person making the health dept. post has a copypasta to reply every time: "No, we only report confirmed cases. We do not collect or report antibody test results".
Spez: state guidelines permit the use of antibody tests to count a case as probable, if the patient is also exhibiting symptoms at the time. But, it's not clear (to me) if all counties are excluding it from the new cases they report to the state every day.
It depends on the jurisdiction. My county health department does not include antibody tests. They only report confirmed COVID-19 cases, with the nose swab and a PCR.
I won't claim my entire state does this, because I don't follow the 200+ counties. But, my state mandates that all confirmed cases require a PCR test. They have a separate classification for ""probable" cases, and a positive antibody test is only considered "probable" if the symptoms meet the clinical criteria.
Some counties in my state may be combining "confirmed" and "probable" cases in their reporting. But, my county does not.
Yes, you did. I was expounding on your point, using my particular county as an example.
My county health department posts a summary of confirmed cases and confirmed deaths on Facebook every day. And nearly every day, someone that just started reading it asks about antibody tests.
I think the person making the health dept. post has a copypasta to reply every time: "No, we only report confirmed cases. We do not collect or report antibody test results".
Spez: state guidelines permit the use of antibody tests to count a case as probable, if the patient is also exhibiting symptoms at the time. But, it's not clear (to me) if all counties are excluding it from the new cases they report to the state every day.