Authorized SARS-CoV-2 molecular methods show wide variability in the limit of detection.

On February 29th, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued the first Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for a SARS-CoV-2 assay outside of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As of May 3rd, 2021, 289 total EUAs have been granted. Like influenza, there is no standard for defining limit of detection (LoD), but rather guidance that analytical sensitivity/LoD be established as the level that gives a 95% detection rate in at least 20 replicates. Here we compare the performance characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 tests receiving EUA by standardizing sensitivity to a common unit of measure and assess the variability in LoD between tests. Additionally, we looked at factors that may impact sensitivities due to lack of standardization of the test development process and compare results for a standardized reference panel for comparative analysis within a subset of EUA tests offered by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.