The test helps identify disease-fighting antibodies in people who have been infected but may have had mild symptoms or none at all, making it different from the current diagnostic tests that require nasal swabs to confirm active infection. Antibody tests are considered a potential game changer in the battle to contain infections and offers the chance to get the economy back on track by identifying people who may have immunity to the virus and could return to their jobs. Last month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration relaxed the rules on use of diagnostic tests by allowing body-fluid tests to proceed to market without full agency review and approval.
