Quarantine - unvaccinated but have antibodies

[user1471327439]

I am unvaccinated and had Covid a month ago. I was tested for, and have, antibodies. I have been in contact with someone who has just tested positive and told I must isolate for ten days. This does not seem logical to me as the antibody test result reads to me as though I would be a similar risk to someone who had the vaccine, who would not need to quarantine.

I do not intend for this to be about whether or not I should have been vaccinated, but why I need to quarantine, having so recently had the virus and confirmed antibodies. I would most certainly not want to put anyone at risk through my decisions, but genuinely do not understand why I have to quarantine now (I realise it's the rules, but don't see why my natural immunity is not recognised).

There isn't a sound scientific explanation no, they've just drawn a line.

@RockingMyFiftiesNot
with all due respect, if it was an omicron case, OP wouldn't have started this thread... I would hope that the majority of all us know that everyone (regardless their vaccine status) has to self-isolate after contact with an omicron case.

[quote scottishtablet23]@RockingMyFiftiesNot
with all due respect, if it was an omicron case, OP wouldn't have started this thread... I would hope that the majority of all us know that everyone (regardless their vaccine status) has to self-isolate after contact with an omicron case.[/quote]
Given some of the stuff I've read on here over the last couple of years, I wouldn't be so certain about that. Not aimed at you OP, I hope you would isolate if Omicron, but there will still be people arguing they shouldn't have to isolate having had a different strain.

Generally speaking vaccines are a known quantity, specific dose, specific exposure to a part of the virus (the spike), specific timings, specifically monitored trials giving measurable data and timescales to make broad decisions with. Compared to a wild infection that may give varying results to comparable factors due to lots of other factors and take longer to collate the data so decisions will be made with that in mind and leaning to the side of caution.

As an individual, you may have tested within the last month as showing antibodies but in general people don’t test for antibodies following covid and as far as I’m aware there is an approved test you can take to prove anything so you’re not subject to any guidelines to ensure that those results are correct and were gathered in acceptable conditions to an acceptable standard. Guidance for an entire population can’t account for individual circumstances in all cases, particularly when these guidelines are still subject to change at very short notice. They have to be be broad to be workable. I suspect all of this will change when we finally hit a period of stability but we’re not there yet.

*isn’t an approved test

@Railk

Yanbu

We all need to question rules, not just blindly follow them. In your case the rules don’t make any sense. They are discriminatory

No they aren't discriminatory. OP has a choice to get vaccinated and chooses not to. It's not something she can't help like a disability or skin colour.

Unless you medically cannot, get yourself vaccinated and then you won't have this problem. Nor will you join the thousands of unvaccinated people unnecessarily clogging up ITU beds and denying life saving surgeries to others. Oh and unnecessarily dying.

@Railk I don’t disagree with you, but if we’re questioning things we don’t understand or have an in-depth knowledge of then we as individuals need to recognise that. Not understanding something doesn’t mean it’s wrong, we need to be able to recognise the logic to be able to disagree with it.

Far too many people make up their minds based on other people’s opinions without understanding why they’ve made up their own mind. That might sound patronising, and it is to a point, but I really dislike the trend that people are determining their scientific and health needs based on ‘gut instinct’. Some things feel wrong because you don’t like what you’re hearing, not because it isn’t right.

@Legoninjago1

Unless you medically cannot, get yourself vaccinated and then you won't have this problem. Nor will you join the thousands of unvaccinated people unnecessarily clogging up ITU beds and denying life saving surgeries to others. Oh and unnecessarily dying.

She is questioning the logic, she is no more a bio hazard than you . Probably less so if you haven’t had covid as well. This is not about risk in this instance, it’s about coercing someone to get a medical procedure. Remember , the majority of people will still suffer mild illness only . The average age is still above 82. There are some wxceptions just like there are to heart attacks at 40 etc

We could all help the nhs and do our bit if we are healthily , got lots of fresh air and exercised . Perhaps people should just get on and do that too!

It's probably as much about resource constraints as anything else. There's already a national system to record and recognise vaccination, records, and even those who don't use the app will have a card. That's not true of natural immunity. So it's just much easier to identify vaccinated people.

Antibody testing isn’t widely available so the rule is based on vaccination

Tbh its things like this that I think contribute to people not wanting to be vaxxed; and I say that as someone who is double jabbed.

Its like they all want you to have the vaccine for the sake of having the vaccine. No other reason.

Thank you everyone - I appreciate your contributions.

This case is not omicron, I realise the rules are different for that for everyone.

The antibody test was sent to me by the NHS, not something I instigated myself.

This case is not omicron,

That's good if they are now telling you which variant - was that the person you were in contact with who was told or you by T&T? When DS had it, we were pretty sure it was the then new delta variant as his only symptom was a sore throat, which was more associated with delta. He wasn't told in test results, When we got contacted by T&T as contacts, we weren't told either.

It's about objectively proving you have antibodies, we wouldn't want the labs and Drs run off their feet testing everyone who had a cold 6 months ago and thinks they are therefore protected.

A lot of people have retrospectively diagnosed a cold in Feb 2020 as them having had Covid. You can't trust objective, personal judgment for something this serious. There has to be clinician or laboratory involvement (like logging people who are vaccinated). So until there is the capacity for widespread antibody testing, you quarantine instead. If they made an exception for you, there would be people queuing up for ab testing and possibly putting off their vaccines on the hope they would get an ab test instead.

@RockingMyFiftiesNot

This case is not omicron,

That's good if they are now telling you which variant - was that the person you were in contact with who was told or you by T&T? When DS had it, we were pretty sure it was the then new delta variant as his only symptom was a sore throat, which was more associated with delta. He wasn't told in test results, When we got contacted by T&T as contacts, we weren't told either.

They will tell you if it's suspected omicron (they can tell from the PCR at some labs) and if you are a contact you have to isolate regardless of vaccination.

@Unmerited

Hmm, I’d say if everyone who could be vaccinated, had been, as soon as available, the rest of us who got on with it might be a whole lot less inconvenienced now. 🤷‍♀️

Absolutely

There is no accepted level of antibodies that provides protection from reinfection. So 'having antibodies' isn't enough.

I was just looking into this further. It seems natural immunity is recognised in quite a few EU countries - and as its looking to be a longer lasting immunity they just extended their 'natural immunity passports' from 180 days to 365. Whereas they stopped bothering to record breakthrough infections of the vaccine in April 2021 in the US because there had been so many.

www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2101/rr-0

Tbh as someone younger its really irritating. I said in the beginning when we locked down that I didnt think it was wise to lock down groups at low risk, as I would much rather get that variant before it potentially evolves into something worse. Then we had Delta, now we have Omicron - and I am stuck getting a vaccine potentially every 3 months... for the rest of my life even? .. as the older I get the more risky it is for me to catch it naturally. Its quite an annoying thought.

"There is no accepted level of antibodies that provides protection from reinfection. So 'having antibodies' isn't enough."

But the jabs produce antibodies 🤔 (in levels which vary from person to person). So 'having antibodies' via vaccination IS enough..? But having them via prior infection ISN'T enough..? Doesn't seem to make much sense clinically. Far easier logistically tho.

@CarrieBlue

Because it’s the law. Tough.

This @user1471327439

Why the name change???

The fact you have been asked to isolate points to this being the new variant, as I understand it.

@EmmaOvary

The fact you have been asked to isolate points to this being the new variant, as I understand it.

No, the close contact isolation rules never changed for unvaccinated adults. Under 12’s are exempt partly because there’s no approved vaccine for under 12’s and partly because disease severity is so mild.

It's actually those aged under 18yrs-and6months who don't have to self-isolate even if a household contact tests positive (except for omicron).

Which seems a bit crazy in some ways (speaking as someone whose husband has just tested positive, but whose 6 children are permitted to trot off to 3 different schools tomorrow ).