The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently approved the first antibody test for COVID-19. The approval was made based on several blood tests developed by a handful of academic laboratories and medical companies in search of antibodies.
The purpose of the laboratory tests is to identify people who have contracted SARS-CoV-2 and see those who have immunity to the novel coronavirus. Healthcare workers, frontline responders, and other vital workers who are considered immune to the virus can then go back to work.
Immunity tests for COVID-19
When it comes to the immunity test for COVID-19, there are two primary types to know about: Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing and serological testing.
While PCR testing looks for the presence of the virus’ genetic material (RNA) on a nasal or throat swab to confirm active infection, the serological testing aims to uncover the presence of antibodies that can fight the SARS-CoV-2.
These two immunity tests go hand and hand to see opportunities as to how antibodies can play a crucial role in combating the novel coronavirus.
The duration of immunity
The “immunity tests” have been called as such to suggest that a person who recovered from COVID-19 might be immune to the virus. Through the serological tests, those who tested positive for the antibodies were likely to have contracted the virus but had successfully fought it off.
The biggest concern, however, is the duration of the immunity. Medical researchers in the health sector are now trying to find out how long such immunity lasts, and whether people who had mild or no symptoms have the same protection.
For this reason, more and more researches are being carried out to further explore the efficacy of the antibodies in fighting off the novel coronavirus.
The availability of testing
The immunity tests have long been explored since February 2020. It was only until April 1st when the FDA approved the first antibody test made by Cellex to be made available for use in the United States. The said testing aims to look for antibodies through finger-pricking of blood and hopes to deliver results in about 15 minutes.
Several other groups have also started working on serological tests for COVID-19. These include researchers at Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine and Scientists at UCSF.
Even other countries such as the United Kingdom and Germany are considering the immunity tests in hopes of allowing people who have immunity to come out of lockdown. That way, healthcare workers, police, first responders, and other essential workers who are considered immune can be on the front line to help fight this virus.
Conclusion
There’s no denying that the immunity tests are a quick medical breakthrough that is needed during this COVID-19 outbreak. However, there’s still much work to be done to check the efficacy of the immunity tests, the duration of immunity, and how such testing can help citizens around the world rise above the COVID-19 situation.
More and more antibody testing is being done to see how immune individuals can be instrumental in fighting off the novel coronavirus. As medical researchers continue to work on this immunity testing, we can only hope for the better.
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