Antibody Tests Should Not Be Your Go-To For Checking COVID Immunity

While it could be tempting to consider these tests a measuring stick of your immune response — or lack thereof — researchers and doctors say your protection against the virus still can't be boiled down to antibody levels in a simple blood test.

  New Test Can Show If You’ve Had COVID-19, Even If Antibodies Fade

This test could show how many people have really had COVID-19, as well as information on how long immunity lasts and how well vaccines are working. A T cell test for COVID may help provide a retroactive diagnosis for people who may be suffering the long-term effects of SARS-CoV-2 — and with it, a sense of clarity and closure.

 I tested positive for Covid-19 antibodies — what now?

For one thing, Covid-19 antibody tests are designed to measure if someone’s been exposed to the virus, not to answer questions about their future immunity. Some of the tests, including the Abbott one I got, don’t even probe for the types of Covid antibodies whose ability to help fight the virus is the most established.

 Why Antibody Tests Can’t Tell You if You Should Get a Booster Shot

They cannot really measure how strong your COVID immunity is.

Among New Coronavirus Antibody Tests, Limited Value and Many Unknowns

Many tests for detecting past infections are reaching patients with their reliability unproven and with much still left to learn about Covid-19 immunity.

Should You Get an Antibody Test?

I would recommend it, but only if you’re part of a research study where your results are contributing to an understanding of what results actually mean.

The FDA Is Now Admitting It Let Fake Coronavirus Antibody Tests Into the U.S.

“We unfortunately see unscrupulous actors marketing fraudulent test kits and using the pandemic as an opportunity to take advantage of Americans’ anxiety,” the FDA said in a statement.

After Recovery From the Coronavirus, Most People Carry Antibodies

A new study adds to evidence of immunity among those who have already been exposed to the pathogen.

Among New Coronavirus Antibody Tests, Limited Value and Many Unknowns

Many tests for detecting past infections are reaching patients with their reliability unproven and with much still left to learn about Covid-19 immunity.

Coronavirus Antibody Tests: Can You Trust the Results?

A team of scientists worked around the clock to evaluate 14 antibody tests. A few worked as advertised. Most did not.

COVID-19 tests are far from perfect, but accuracy isn’t the biggest problem

Here’s what all those false positives and negatives really mean.

Everything We Know About Covid-19 Antibody Tests (So Far)

Should you take a test, and what does it mean for immunity? You’ve got questions, but we’ve got … more questions.

Facts and Myths About Coronavirus Antibody Tests

How reliable are they? How can (and should) you get them? We answer the most important questions.

Health Authorities Roll Out New Coronavirus Tests to Gauge Infection’s Spread

Health departments, hospitals and companies around the world are rolling out the next wave in coronavirus tests, which look in a person’s blood for signs of past infection, in hopes of better gauging how widespread the pandemic is and who might be counted among the recovered.

How (Not) to Do an Antibody Survey for SARS-CoV-2

Preprints from the first round of seroprevalence studies indicate that many more people have been infected with the virus than previously reported. Some of these studies also have serious design flaws.

I Kind of Regret Getting an Antibody Test

It was easy to get one. It was difficult to take any meaning from it.

Public Health England approves Roche test for coronavirus antibodies

Roche’s test was approved at the start of May by the EU and by the Food and Drug Administration in the USA as being 99.8% specific for Covid-19 – so it is not confused by antibodies against other coronaviruses which cause colds – and 100% sensitive, so it will pick up any antibodies that are present. It will work on blood samples taken by a healthcare professional at least 14 days after the person developed Covid-19.

The False Hope of Antibody Tests

The immunity tests were supposed to be a “game changer,” but they are instead revealing that the majority of Americans are still vulnerable to COVID-19 infection.

What Covid-19 antibody tests say — and don’t say — about immunity

A positive antibody test doesn’t yet mean you’re immune to Covid-19.

What immunity to Covid-19 might actually mean

Your immune system is like a beautifully complex orchestra. It plays two movements.

Why can’t we use antibody tests for diagnosing COVID-19 yet?

It’s difficult to craft a test that is specific enough to detect just SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19), and not other similar viruses.

Why even a super-accurate Covid-19 test can fail

It’s hard to find a disease that’s rare.

Why the Accuracy of SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Tests Varies So Much

The trend that we’re starting to see [with rapid tests] is that there is inconsistency in many of [the manufacturers’] claims.