At some point in this coronavirus pandemic, who has the COVID-19 becomes less important as who has had the disease.
Experts say that those who have been exposed to SARS-CoV-2 build antibodies, and while there’s some dispute as to whether those already infected can catch the virus again, some studies show those infected could have immunity, at least for a period of time.
Now, Quest Diagnostics, a nationwide testing company, is offering a new antibody test for $119 (or potentially less if you have insurance).
“This test checks for a type of antibody called immunoglobulin G (IgG) that is the result of past or recent exposure to COVID-19, also known as the novel coronavirus,” Quest explains. “The human body produces IgG antibodies as part of the immune response to the virus. It usually takes around 10 to 18 days to produce enough antibodies to be detected in the blood.”
Test results may help identify if you were previously exposed to the virus and, if exposed, can check whether or not your body has produced antibodies. Antibodies typically suggest protective immunity after you’ve recovered or been exposed to COVID-19. However, evidence is still being collected to determine if IgG antibodies provide protective immunity against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 infection.
- If you were never diagnosed with COVID-19, this test can help determine if you may have been previously exposed to the virus.
- If you were diagnosed with COVID-19, this test can check whether or not your body has produced antibodies.
“With the introduction of this test and service, Quest is making it easy for people to access quality testing for antibodies to the virus which causes COVID-19, with access to physician interpretation and steering into needed care,” said Jay Wohlgemuth, M.D., Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for Quest Diagnostics. “While the science on COVID-19 is evolving, testing for antibodies may identify people who have likely been exposed to COVID-19 and might have mounted an immune response to the virus. Our goal is to empower individuals and their physicians to make informed decisions about their risk of infection and of spreading the virus.”
Experts say the novel coronavirus shows no symptoms in as many as 50% of those infected. So while nearly a million Americans have tested positive for the virus, according to Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering, millions more may have already had the virus but never knew.
A recent antibody study in New York City found that 1 in 5 (21.2%) of residents have already been infected with the coronavirus, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said last week. With 8.5 million people in New York City, that means more than 1.8 residents in New York City may have had the virus.
The study tested 3,000 New York residents across the state — at grocery and big-box stores — for antibodies. “What we found so far is that the statewide number is 13.9% tested positive for having the antibodies,” Cuomo said. “What does it mean? They were infected three weeks ago and four weeks ago and five weeks ago or six weeks ago,” Cuomo said. “They have the virus and they developed the antibodies and they are recovered.”
“What you do in a place with 21% is very different,” he said. “The facts dictate the action.”
There have been other studies, some of them unscientific. In a random study of 200 residents on a single street in Chelsea, Massachusetts, about a third of participants tested positive for coronavirus, according to researchers. The random study does not prove anything, but “still, it’s kind of sobering that 30 percent of a random group of 200 people that are showing no symptoms are, in fact, infected,” Thomas Ambrosino, Chelsea’s city manager, told the Boston Globe.
Another study by Stanford University found the number of people infected with coronavirus could be tens of times higher than previously thought. The study “tested samples from 3,330 people in Santa Clara county and found the virus was 50 to 85 times more common than official figures indicated,” The Guardian reported.
“In a startling finding, new Stanford research reveals between 48,000 and 81,000 people in Santa Clara County alone may already have been infected by the coronavirus by early April — that’s 50 to 85 times more than the number of official cases at that date,” The Mercury News reported.
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