Thursday, April 2, 2020

Got Coronavirus Antibodies?

Antibodies circulate in the blood for weeks and even months after infection, providing resistance to another onslaught, though the immune system remembers how to produce them on demand.

Because antibodies linger in the blood, they are especially useful for determining if someone has been infected with the coronavirus.

Antibody data, as White House coronavirus coordinator Deborah Birx noted on Tuesday, might also show how widely the virus was circulating before testing expanded in March.

Kids with antibodies could visit grandparents without worrying they might kill them.

Dutch health authorities are conducting antibody tests on tens of thousands of blood samples from healthy adults to discern its spread. The U.K. has ordered 3.5 million antibody testing kits and intends to ship them to households after they have been verified.

Tests must be specific and sensitive-i.e., detect an antibody particular to Covid-19 when present and not other antibodies.

A false positive antibody result is more worrisome than a false coronavirus diagnosis since people who mistakenly believe they are immune could spread the virus.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/got-coronavirus-antibodies-11585782003?mod=hp_opin_pos_1

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