‘Fast and accurate’ antibody test developed by scientists
A NEW “fast and accurate” coronavirus antibody test has been developed by scientists in Edinburgh, although the company fears the NHS could miss out amid interest in Europe for the machines.
Researchers for blood-screening company Quotient have developed a new test for whether people are immune to Covid-19 by spotting whether a person has developed antibodies to the disease.
Each serological screening machine has capacity for up to 3,000 tests a day and produces results in 35 minutes with 99.8% accuracy, the firm said.
The company behind the new tests says it has 12 screening machines available, with a further 20 expected to be ready by the end of the year, but it has already had talks with interested parties across Europe.
However, with the new test developed by scientists in Edinburgh, the company is calling for the UK and Scottish governments to begin talks so that the NHS might be able to benefit.
While the UK Government says it has laboratory capability to test for coronavirus immunity, it is currently being used for survey testing of existing blood samples and the capacity is not known.
It is also attempting to develop home testing kits, rather than requiring analysis in laboratories, but so far these have proved unreliable.
The tests aim to establish whether a person has developed antibodies to the Covid-19 virus, usually after being infected by the disease, and is therefore immune from being infected again.
On Friday, Quotient received European regulatory approval for the MosaiQ serological screening machines with 100% sensitivity and 99.8% specificity, meaning there is a low chance of a misread or “false positive”.
Chief executive Franz Walt – who was managing director of a laboratory that developed the first diagnostic test for Sars in 2003 – said: “We are truly proud to have developed such a fast and accurate test. This is an outstanding performance by our teams in both Edinburgh and Switzerland.
“We now want to make sure that we can help as many people as possible as quickly as possible.
“We have strong roots in the UK and want to speak to ministers there so MosaiQ can be used in the amazing national effort to tackle coronavirus and relaunch the economy.
“We realise ministers and the NHS are incredibly busy but are keen to talk, given the strong interest from across Europe in the product.”
Ed Farrell, chief operating officer at the Edinburgh office, added: “We’re incredibly proud of all our work here in Scotland and Switzerland.”
AS A self-employed mobile hairdresser, Tamsin Bryan’s business costs are low. With no landlord and outgoing costs to worry about, she knows that financially things will be OK when the Government’s self-employed help package is delivered in June.
But there is less certainty about how her business will cope in the long run. Tamsin, who has worked as a hairdresser for 17 years, is also a wedding hair stylist. So far, she has had seven weddings cancelled between March and June. Each would have earned her between £300 and £500.
Even if she does return to work as soon as lockdown is lifted, the uncertainty over when weddings will resume might have a longer impact on her business this year.
“I know when all this is over I will be fine, I will be really busy. My business isn’t going to collapse. But in the meantime I am not making any money,” said the 32-year-old from Barry.
Tamsin said she has often got teary because she misses her job: “All my clients are like my counsellors, we have really good chats, we are more like friends. I have been so overwhelmed, lots of people have said they can’t wait to have me back.”
Despite not knowing how long she will be unable to work for, Tamsin has started to look at what precautions she can put in place for when she is able to work again: “I have thought of wearing a mask and disposable gowns. I always wash and disinfect my tools anyway but that will be ramped up. I don’t really know what else I can do.”
As a mobile hairdresser, Tamsin said she may face the difficulty of being unable to control the cleanliness of her workspace, because her workspace is other people’s homes.
She said: “I would have to find out if anyone has flown home from somewhere or if they were still working, I’d have to consider all those things. I think I will do it in my own time. We are so close-contact, that’s why I stopped before lockdown was announced.”
One thing Tamsin has started to do in preparation is write up a new diary, rearranging planned events and looking to schedule in clients, as she knows how desperate people are to have their haircut.
To help her clients in the only way she can at the moment, Tamsin has also created hair tutorials on Facebook, showing how to do a quick fringe trim and hair updo.
Like Tamsin, hairdresser and salon owner Sarah Worthing is coping financially due to financial support from the Government – but as a relatively new business owner, the disruption in trade is likely to set back the salon’s progress for around six months.
“I have been open for around 16 months, I was really still trying to build it up into something,” she said
“When I first opened I had a kind of three-year plan to develop it into something but obviously this has changed things now.”
Sarah has been cutting hair for nearly 19 years and decided she would open her own salon, Kalon Hair Studio in Cardiff, just over two years ago. After finding a place to rent, it took Sarah around five months to renovate the space ready for use.
“We ended up doing a lot of work. I am still trying to make the money back that I spent on the salon. I felt like we were just about to see a new curve, things were busy and I was looking to take on another stylist or two, but obviously that has gone out the window now.”
Despite the disruption, Sarah is confident that in the short term the grant which she received fairly quickly after applying to Cardiff council will be enough to cover the costs of the salon and her one member of staff for at least three months.
The 35-year-old, originally from Swansea, is also confident that the shop will be really busy as soon as it opens, but does have concerns over how social distancing will affect her business.
“We have five stations in the salon so before we closed I had already made sure we were distancing ourselves and I had started to give more time between clients to clean things through, but there may be a profit loss if it has to continue for a long time,” she said.
“If I spread out appointments I won’t be able to see as many clients each day but the costs will stay the same, so there’s a lot of uncertainty about how things are going to work, you just have to try and switch off and take things day by day.”
As Sarah works in a small team, social distancing measures should be relatively easy to put in place, but the challenge for larger salons may be a bigger one.
Ian Davies has owned Ocean Salon in Cardiff for 23 years and has 16 stylists. Financially, his team and business are covered by furlough and the business grant, but he is worried it won’t be the same for many other hairdressers and salons.
“Mobile hairdressers, people who rent a chair, they may not be eligible for any of the support. I think it is going to be a bit of a reset for the industry as a whole,” said the 55-year-old.
Ian, who is originally from Merthyr and has 41 years of experience in the industry, has pencilled in a provisional date for that reset to begin at his own salon, and said if the Government allows, his shop will be ready to open with full social distancing measures in place on May 18.
“We are looking at getting PPE and we are going to get disposable towels so clients aren’t sharing,” he said.
As well as bringing in PPE, disposable items and a rigorous cleaning routine between clients, Ian has also completely rewritten his rota. Opening