COVID-19 tests are not ‘scientifically meaningless’

The United States has ramped up its COVID-19 testing capacity this summer in an effort to slow the spread of the virus. Some bloggers and Facebook users say that’s a mistake.

In a June 27 article, a website called OffGuardian wrote that the tests many health care providers use to diagnose COVID-19 are "scientifically meaningless."

"These PCR tests are meaningless as a diagnostic tool to determine an alleged infection by a supposedly new virus called SARS-CoV-2," reads the article, which has been shared more than thousands of times on Facebook.

The article was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) It has also been copy-pasted into text posts, which have also been shared thousands of times.

(Screenshot from Facebook)

OffGuardian was launched in 2015. The site’s name comes from the fact that its founders were all "banned from the Guardian’s ‘Comment is Free’ sections," according to its about section.

OffGuardian has a track record of publishing conspiracy theories and Russian propaganda, so we wanted to take a closer look at its claim about COVID-19 testing.

The article is inaccurate — polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests are among the most common and reliable ways to test for the coronavirus. Similar claims have circulated, and have been fact-checked, since March.

There are three main coronavirus tests: diagnostic, antibody and antigen. Diagnostic tests, also known as PCR tests, look for the genetic material of the coronavirus in a sample that’s typically taken from a person’s nose or throat. Health care providers and public health officials use them to confirm whether someone has the disease.

In a fact sheet for its PCR test, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the test is "designed to detect the virus that causes COVID-19 in respiratory specimens, for example nasal or oral swabs."

"If you have a positive test result, it is very likely that you have COVID-19," the document says.

That’s because PCR tests amplify small segments of DNA, making it easier for labs to test for the presence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Health care providers have also used them for detecting viruses like HIV. It usually takes several days to get results. 

In its 4,500-word article, OffGuardian lays out several (inaccurate) theories about PCR tests. None of them prove that the tests are "scientifically meaningless."

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stated on January 22, 2020 in a Facebook post

Says a coronavirus patent expired just as there is a "sudden outbreak" and, despite "media fear-mongering," there is already a vaccine available.

OffGuardian wrote in its article that the inventor of the PCR test, Kary Mullis, "regarded the PCR as inappropriate to detect a viral infection." In a fact-check, Reuters rated that claim false — the source is a 1996 article about HIV/AIDS. It does not say PCR tests are ineffective for detecting viruses.

OffGuardian makes several other inaccurate claims in its article, including:

• "There are no distinctive specific symptoms for COVID-19." The CDC says otherwise.

• "The existence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA is based on faith, not fact." Several researchers have analyzed the genetic material of the coronavirus — including its RNA.

• Between 22% and 77% "of the ‘positive’ tests are false ‘positives.’" Currently, about 92% of tests in the United States produce negative results.

RELATED: Coronavirus testing: What we know, all in one place

There are legitimate questions about the accuracy of diagnostic COVID-19 tests, particularly for people who are not experiencing symptoms. There have been several cases of tests producing the wrong results, and some experts are concerned about false-negatives.

But OffGuardian’s claim about PCR tests is inaccurate and ridiculous. We rate it Pants on Fire!