Covid-19: UK launches massive antibody testing program

UK launches massive campaign of antibody testing, reports BBC 22 August. British health officials want to know exactly how many antibodies people positive for COVID-19 may have. Thus, as soon as British people test positive after a PCR test, they will be offered an antibody test.

In fact, the first test should be done very early after a positive result so that the body does not have time to produce a detectable antibody response during infection, then the second 28 days later. At this date, it will be possible to measure the antibodies generated. The UK Health Protection Agency is keen to work with UK, Scottish and Northern Irish services to monitor the effects of positive cases.

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better understand viruses

These results will provide an “essential element” on the impact of the vaccination program and the immune response to different types, according to director Jenny Harris, director-general of the Health Protection Agency. With this, experts will also be able to understand the Kovid-19 virus better. It will ultimately be a question of determining why some people have not developed an immune response after being infected with COVID-19.

The Secretary of State for Health, Hamza Yusuf, welcomed this future operation. “It is important that we have as much knowledge as possible about vaccine efficacy and the immune response of the general population.” According to him, the deployment of these antibody tests will play a role in the “fight to keep the virus under control”. These tests had already been used in the UK at the start of the pandemic, but in very small quantities.