Antibody testing thread 2

[Egghead68]

Thread for people thinking about, doing, or awaiting results of COVID-19 antibody tests.

My friend who is an NHS worker had the anti body test at her work and it was positive. She was ill and tested positive for it at the time though so not surprising.

I'm hoping they get these tests out to other key workers soon!

I did a finger prick one

Easy (although a lot of squeeze needed)!

Negative but at least I know now

Just for interest my antibody test was positive everyone else I work with is negitve so I guess self isolating works! If we get access to full staff results I post them

Thanks for the updates @gingercat02 @Davincitoad and @MrsWombat.

A bit shocking people are still selling home tests after they have been withdrawn.

I had results from a fingerprick Abbott test back this week (DH did it for me & it worked fine). Negative. I got sick shortly after lockdown but wasn’t tested for Covid.

I had the antibody test done in the hope of easing my anxiety about using public transport once I’m back at work, so it was a disappointment. That said, I had a full blood count back in November for a mystery respiratory illness & the T-cells seemed to be doing their thing, so I’m relying on the fact that they did their job in March/April & will continue to do so!

I’ll also say that I sent the test blood off the same day the labs were asked to stop testing on May 26th. Purchased well before that.

A positive result does not guarantee immunity in the future.

The company I used are still selling kits I think. I only sent my sample on Wednesday and I'm hoping they'll be able to process this one. I've not been told that they have stopped testing and I can't see anything on their website either. Who knows.

Does anyone know how long after initial infection antibody tests can detect the virus? We’ve all been sick 9 weeks now.

MrsCornelius antibody tests don’t detect the virus. Did you mean how long after symptoms appear should you test for antibodies?

@MrsCornelius no one really knows how quickly IgG antibody levels fall but one study suggests after around one month post infection. There’s a link to the study further back in the thread.

The one I had wasn’t withdrawn it was put on hold until the verified it, then they processed it (posted two weeks ago got results this week).

I am a biomedical scientist so I understand a bit about how they work, I wasn’t buying blind.

Abbott was unhappy about their venous blood tests being adapted for finger prick tests. Although from data from some students of people who have had the virus a 6% rate of antibody detection doesn’t really bode well for the governments ‘game changing’ Roche tests.

Flaxmeadow that's the current assumption but no one really knows. I wouldn't have paid for an antibody test but as the opportunity arose and I had suspected Covid19 why not find out?

@Flaxmeadow it doesn’t but there is no evidence it doesn’t either. We are coming up to six months so it that’s the lifespan we will see huge flare ups in populations from the early infections.

For me the cost of the test wasn’t an issue and I am interested in the process/testing. Plus I wanted to be part of the data collection process.

Although from data from some students of people who have had the virus a 6% rate of antibody detection doesn’t really bode well for the governments ‘game changing’ Roche tests.

@Davincitoad 6% detection rate? Do you have a reference for this please?

@noraclavicle

MrsCornelius antibody tests don’t detect the virus. Did you mean how long after symptoms appear should you test for antibodies?

Sorry I wasn’t clear. I’m trying to establish how long after onset of symptoms you can detect previous infection with the virus via an antibody test.

We want to know if we have had it - I’m assuming if we have antibodies to the virus then we must have had the virus.
Thank you.

I work for NHS and had the antibody test. Came back today as negative, as I thought it would. Colleague however tested negative

Sorry I meant colleague tested positive.

DH took an antibody test at work (NHS hospital - he works in an office but not able to WFH so has been going in - apart from isolating mid to late March for 14 days when I had Covid symptoms). It came back today as negative.

T cell immunity maybe - 9 days after I started he went to bed for most of the day with a migraine cum sinus headache (he used to get migraines but these are rare now), and that was it for him, so we wondered if he'd been largely asymptomatic. I'm pretty sure I had the virus, although it might have been something else, and I'd like to get an antibody test - was dithering over paying for one then the Govt pulled the home tests.

Not posting references for people to try and have a go it’s tiring

I don’t think anyone’s having a go. It’s just that that’s quite an astonishing claim that the Roche tests are only 6% accurate and it would be interesting to see the research behind this.

They just said on Radio 4 PM that 30% of the staff in a Birmingham hospital have tested positive for IgG antibodies.

They just said on Radio 4 PM that 30% of the staff in a Birmingham hospital have tested positive for IgG antibodies

Wow that's a lot

Yes! I am guessing it will be more in London hospitals.