Test to Detect CCP Virus Flawed, Scientists Say

Fragments of dead virus can thwart the diagnostic tool churning out the numbers that dominate headlines

A member of staff at the laboratory of Karolinska hospital operates a machine used in the PCR testing process for people who think they may be suffering from COVID-19, in Solna, near Stockholm, on Dec. 7, 2020. Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP via Getty Images

Never in medical history has a diagnostic tool been given so much authority as the PCR test, which has been used to detect if someone is infected with the CCP virus.

Many policymakers rely solely on rising positive cases derived from the PCR [polymerase chain reaction] test, and not on deaths or hospitalization rates, to implement restrictive measures that seek to stop the transmission of COVID-19.