New Quantitative COVID-19 Antibody test: what is it?
As researchers learn more about the immune responses to COVID-19 infection, there will be more knowledge of the effectiveness of the antibody levels in preventing COVID -19 infection. Good news that this is another step forward for our peace of mind to help us take lifestyle decisions based on best available current information.
Up until now, previous Antibody tests gave you a “positive” or “negative” result. This new advanced test will actually provide a numerical result to give you the level of COVID-19 specific antibodies in your blood thus giving you an understanding of the level of your antibody response by measuring the quantity of antibodies in your blood sample. In addition to a simple “yes or no” answer as to whether antibodies are present, this test can now answer the question of “how much”, which means it gives an answer about the body’s immune response to the virus – either from previous infection with COVID-19 or after a vaccination.
The New Quantitative COVID-19 Antibody Test is now approved by Public Health England and CE marked and it is the latest iteration of the evolving increasingly specific antibody tests produced from the beginning of the pandemic.
This test is suitable for anyone seeking to find out the strength of their antibody response either to previous COVID-19 infection or after having the COVID-19 vaccine.
Book your appointment online
Find out how strong your immune response is after either COVID-19 infection or a vaccination.
Roche Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 S (Spike) quantitative antibody approved by Public Health England and CE market.
Choose the day and time that best suits you and complete your booking directly using the form below.
You’ll receive an email to confirm your appointment and we look forward to seeing you at the Centre.
*you should have an Antibody test only if you feel well and you have no symptoms.
If you are experiencing any coronavirus symptoms, flu or a cough please call 111 and follow NHS guidelines.
What is the Quantitative COVID-19 Antibody test and how is it different from the Abbott Test?
The main difference between the Quantitative Antibody Test and the Abbott Antibody Test is that with this newly released Quantitative Test we can not only know that our bodies have developed an immune defence to COVID-19, but now we also will be able to measure how high our antibody count is. This test will allow you to monitor your antibody count and immune response following infection or vaccination.
- Roche Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 S (Spike) Total antibody
- CIMA Assay Abbott SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody
Advantages of the Quantitative Antibody Test
It will specify the level of antibodies in your blood. This in turn informs you on the level of your immune response to the virus or the vaccine.
- A positive antibody test result has been shown to protect against COVID-19 for at least 6 months. Therefore, by taking this test, it can help to find out if you have short-term future immunity to COVID-19.
- Because the test gives a numerical value specifying the level of antibodies in your blood, it gives a baseline for any future antibody testing you may decide to have.
- If you have a high level of antibodies from the test you also will have a high level of neutralising activity i.e. the ability to stop a live virus from entering and infecting blood cells.
How can the Quantitative Antibody Testing detect antibodies developed after COVID-19 Vaccine?
Quantitative Antibody testing uses the spike protein, which is the target of many COVID-19 vaccines, while the Abbott Antibody Test uses Nucleocapsid protein which only detects IgG developed after an infection.
How Quantitative Antibody testing works
This test involves taking a blood sample to detect IgG and IgM antibodies present in the blood if a person has had either the infection or the vaccine.
The Quantitative Antibody Test with Positive result comes with the value of the quantity of Antibodies.
When to do Quantitative antibody test to detect COVID-19 immunity
The time for the Quantitative test is from 14 days after the date when the symptoms consistent with COVID-19 started.
IgM antibodies are detected from 7-14 days after the onset of infection whilst IgG antibodies are detected from 14-21 days after infection and can last a long time. Researchers are still seeing how long these antibodies last for.
Is the Quantitative Antibody test for COVID-19 accurate?
The test is very accurate with a specificity of 98.8% and sensitivity of 99.8%.
This test has an extremely low probability of a false positive. A positive test has great value because a person then knows that they have had the COVID-19 infection or they have built an immune response after the vaccination.
Please note:
- Antibody tests cannot diagnose acute infection.
- Not everyone will develop an antibody response to COVID infection or vaccine.
Our laboratory:
The test is Roche Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 S (Spike) Total antibody using a CPA approved and certified laboratory in London. The Roche is CE marked which makes it a reputable and high-grade laboratory test.
Source image “Structure of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)” : Roche
