COVID-19: IgM/IgG is a test kit for COVID-19 and not a Vaccine

There have been messages on social media of a drug labelled COVID-19 IgM/IgG with a narrative suggesting that the drug is able cure persons who have tested positive to Covid-19 in hours. The narrative reads:

“Great news! Carona Virus vaccine ready. Able to cure patient within 3 hours after injection, Hats off to US scientists. Right now Trump announced that Roche Medical Company will launch the vaccine next week Sunday, and millions of doses are ready from it!!!”

The fact-checking team at the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) subjected this to critical scrutiny and verification and concludes that COVID-19 IgM/IgG is a test kit for covid-19 and not a vaccine.

FACT: Fist of all, according to US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), vaccines don’t cure diseases. They stimulate the immune system to produce anti-bodies to help prevent diseases. Therefore, a possible Covid-19 vaccine would not be curing infected persons. It will rather help uninfected persons to develop immunity against the disease.

READ ALSO: Facts About Covid-19 Cases in Ghana

Secondly, the fact-checking team did a reverse image check and found that the photo was first published on http://sdbiosensor.com/ with the narrative:

“STANDARD Q COVID-19 IgM/IgG Duo Test Kit is a rapid immunochromatography test designed for the qualitative presumptive detection of specific IgM and IgG to SARS-CoV-2 in humoral fluid.

• Rapid testing for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies within 10 minutes
• Just 10ul of specimen : Whole blood, serum , plasma
• Suitable for Point of Care Testing. No need for extra equipment.”

While you’re here, check out the stats of COVID-19 in Africa below: