Trump not concerned about accuracy of Abbott tests

President Donald Trump said Friday he has no concerns about a rapid coronavirus test that the White House has been relying on to ensure his safety, despite new data suggesting the test may return an inordinate share of false negatives.

Trump expressed his confidence in the test from Abbott Laboratories after a preliminary study by New York University researchers reported problems with it.

Trump and his deputies have promoted the 15-minute test as a "game changer" and have been using it for weeks now to try to keep the White House complex safe.

The Food and Drug Administration announced late Thursday it was investigating preliminary data suggesting the Abbott test can miss a large number of COVID-19 cases, falsely clearing infected patients.

"Abbott is a great test; it's a very quick test," Trump said at a Rose Garden event to highlight his administration's efforts to develop a vaccine for the virus. "And it can always be very rapidly double checked."

The rapid swab is used daily at the White House to test Trump, key members of his staff as well as any visitor to the White House complex who comes in close proximity to the president or Vice President Mike Pence. The tests were also used to justify most White House staffers' decisions not to wear masks until they were ordered to do so earlier this week.

White House officials on Friday continued using the Abbot ID Now test. Reporters at the White House underwent the test before Trump's Rose Garden event. The president noted that the administration officials and staff around him, not all of whom were wearing masks, also had undergone testing Friday.

Trump, who also did not wear a mask, was asked why not everyone was wearing a face covering. "I've been tested, we've all been tested and we're quite a distance away, and we're outdoors," said Trump. "I told them I gave them the option they can wear it or not."

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said she had discussed the issue with FDA commissioner Steve Hahn and suggested some of the high false negative results may have been the result of "user error."

Still, she said, "They take any indication of false negatives very seriously," adding that anyone who tests negative but still presents symptoms should consider being tested again.

Federal health officials have been alerting doctors to the potential inaccuracy in the test, which is used at thousands of hospitals, clinics and testing sites across the United States.