A video has gone viral on social media in which a person can be seen unboxing a rapid antigen test kit and pulling out two different packets. One packet reads ‘positive control’, while the other says ‘negative control’. It is being claimed that the swabs are used by medical professionals to cheat during COVID-19 tests and get the desired results.
The post is shared on Facebook with the text that reads, “PCR tests come with one positive and one negative result. So they can tell you whatever they want it to be. These are created for “controlled studies”. To cheat in studies and get the results they want basically. That’s what a controlled study means.”
Here’s the link to the above post.
Check similar posts here, here, and here.
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the above claim and found it to be misleading.
Starting with our investigation, we carefully examined the video and found that the test kit ‘Panbio COVID-19 Ag Rapid Test Device (nasopharyngeal)’ is manufactured by a pharmaceutical company, Abbott.
We looked for the product literature of the kit on the official website of Abbott and found that the list of items in the kit mentions positive and negative control swabs.
The product literature also mentioned the use of the swabs. As per the document, positive and negative swabs are not used for testing purposes. As part of quality control measures for COVID-19 tests, these samples are included in batches to help detect any faults.
Sometimes the testing kits do not detect the virus or show false negative if the kit is not stored properly during transportation or if the reagents in it have undergone chemical changes. To make sure the test is detecting the virus in people who have been infected and showing negative results for people who are not infected, control tests are done.
For a positive control test, the swab has been treated in such a way that it should give a positive result when treated with the buffer fluid.
Whereas, or a negative control test, generic cells that have not developed antibodies are run through the test. If the test comes positive, it shows that something went wrong with the test and indicates that the kit should not be used.
The detailed procedure of testing through this kit can be found on the World Health Organization (WHO) website as well.
We also went through the product literature of various manufacturers of the rapid antigen test kits and found that positive and negative control swabs for quality check are present in all kits.
From all the above information, it can be concluded that this message is misleading and false.
If you want to fact-check any story, WhatsApp it now on +91 11 7127 9799
Error: Contact form not found.
Click here for Latest News updates and viral videos on our AI-powered smart news