Why have we not rolled out antibody testing yet?!

[Harencha]

As I understand it, any second positive cases have been attributed to being an extension of the original infection or shedding dead virus.

It costs £65 for a Bupa antibody test but £125 for private antigen (Current infection) testing.

I would feel far more confident to know I had antibodies and can't be certain when I was infected. The laws are still in place to protect people so I wouldn't present more risk I'd just feel less anxious going about daily life I. E kids at school, eating out etc

I was reading about a sensitive antibody home test kit that's been selected by Imperial College in a study they've been doing. It will be progressing to a further stage of testing in autumn for 200,000 people.

To develop a reliable and accurate antibody test for the study, researchers assessed 11 different tests for accuracy and ease of use at home. Around 300 staff from Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust who previously had a postitive PCR swab test initially volunteered to trial the different tests to assess how easy they were to use and their accuracy. These volunteers also donated a blood sample which was analysed in the laboratory using a test developed by Imperial researchers.

The best performing test was then rolled out to a nationally-representative sample of 100,000 members of the public, who were randomly selected, between 20 June and 13 July. The tests use a drop of blood from the finger and give a result in just 15 minutes, which participants read themselves and upload via an online survey.

www.imperial.nhs.uk/about-us/news/largest-home-antibody-testing-publishes-results

It would be fantastic to have a reliable test! The sooner the better.

Firstly cost - times that by 70 million or so and it gets expensive without any real progress in beating the virus.
Secondly, imagine the chaos caused by having People swan around just because they’re immune. They may be safe, but how do you prove it without tattooing everyone?
It would cause a social divide and, other than gaining important data (which everyone likes to ignore), would give no benefit.

I understand that initial tests into the longevity of antibodies are still ongoing and suggest that levels fall. Until it is established how long antibody levels remain, I would imagine that it may not be helpful to provide tests - as it may give people an misplaced sense of confidence following a positive result.

I'd assume costs, it's a huge cost and there's little that it would achieve. Also I do question if a vaccine will ever work if people can catch it twice

Antibodies only last a limited time even though immunity lasts a lot longer via T cells.

Because even those who have had a lab confirmed case of Covid can cease to have detectable antibodies within a few weeks.

Early on, it was thought an antibody test would be a game changer, as we'd be able to work out reliably who had already had it. It's clear that the rapid disappearance of antibodies mean that it can not play that role. That does not mean it will have no value.

But also it cannot show that you have enduring immunity and should not change behaviour based on the result.

More work is needed on T cells

I think longer lasting immunity is quite possible, perhaps some of you would be interested in viewing a video by the excellent Dr John Campbell, where he talks about some research studies that are showing it's a strong possibility:

From around 3 mins in:

Yes, Imperial College have an antibody test for their study - it's like a pregnancy test except with a finger prick drop of blood. They have already tested 100,000 people are random and as a PP says, they will be testing more, so you might get lucky and get selected!

www.gov.uk/government/news/largest-home-antibody-testing-programme-for-covid-19-publishes-findings

That antibody test also tests for short and long lasting antibodies as well.