LA County Will Discontinue Curative Brand COVID-19 Testing

COVID-19 testing site (Photo – Mandy Foster)

As a precaution, the LA County Department of Health Services (DHS) will discontinue the use of the Curative COVID-19 PCR tests at County-supported pop-up testing sites.

By News Desk

The change, which will take place this week, comes after a review of the data that prompted the recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration alert about the possibility of false negative results from tests manufactured by a California company, Curative.

Curative provided a limited number of tests at County-supported pop-up testing sites beginning in mid-December. Between Dec. 13, 2020 and Jan. 2, 2021, 24,241 Curative tests were administered at those sites. That made up about 10% of all COVID-19 tests administered at County-supported test sites during that same time frame. The Curative tests will be replaced with Fulgent Genetics tests.

A Risk of False Negative

All COVID-19 tests have a risk of false negative results, which means that you may test negative when you actually have COVID-19. That is because the sensitivity depends on how well the sample was collected and the concentration of viral RNA in the sample. There is no reliable way to detect early infection, meaning that infection often spreads before symptoms develop. Nevertheless, PCR tests are still better at detecting disease than other tests, including rapid tests.

Even if you test negative, it is critically important to self-isolate for 14 days after exposure or 10 days after symptoms start.

If you have COVID-19 symptoms or have been exposed to COVID-19, we encourage you to get tested. Call your health care provider for a COVID-19 test. If you cannot get a test through a health care provider, find a test site near you through the L.A. County testing website. Even if you test negative, it is critically important to self-isolate for 14 days after exposure or 10 days after symptoms start. You may still have COVID-19 and spread it to others.

Residents are urged to continue to follow public health guidance to protect themselves and others: stay home whenever possible, wear a face covering that covers your nose and mouth, avoid gatherings and wash your hands often.