Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the scientific and medical advice that he received up to 1 April 2020 on the merits of antigen and antibody testing for covid-19.

COVID-19 testing is core to the Government’s response to the virus, helping to provide care to those who need it, protect the most vulnerable and find new cases to help break the chains of transmission.

The Government continues to be guided by the latest expertise in this area and receives a range of scientific and medical advice, including from Public Health England (PHE) and the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), which have consistently advised on the importance of testing. SAGE meeting minutes are published on GOV.UK.

Assessments of the various antibody testing assays, including those now in use were performed by PHE, are available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-laboratory-evaluations-of-serological-assays