Antibody test

Bhubaneswar's ambitious stray dog vaccination drive has covered 35% of the city's wards in one month, with 30% of the estimated 47,000 dogs receiving shots. The initiative, a collaboration with OUAT and Mission Rabies, aims for completion in two months. Random antibody testing will follow vaccination.

Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation is sending blood samples of vaccinated stray dogs to Bengaluru for sero surveillance to assess antibody quality. The ongoing mass vaccination drive, which has already vaccinated nearly 5,000 dogs, aims to achieve a rabies-free city by vaccinating 70-75% of the estimated dog population.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has recently released an interim advisory for use of rapid antibody test for COVID-19 in hotspot areas of the country.

Pathologists working in diagnostic laboratories in Mangaluru say they are seeing a significant rise in demand for antibody tests and queries on “tests to boost immunity”.

King George's Medical University (KGMU) has started conducting antibody tests in communities to check if herd immunity is getting developed against coronavirus.

The top US infectious disease official says coronavirus antibody tests are just days away. Anthony Fauci says at the last White House coronavirus task force meeting, the people responsible for developing, validating and disseminating the tests were saying "a rather large number of tests" will be available within a week.

More than half of the total Covid cases in the city are from seven small clusters — Firoz Gandhi Colony, Wazirabad, Lakshman Vihar, Chandar Lok, Dundahera, Chakkarpur and Gandhi Nagar.

antibody tests can only offer a small glimmer of hope in the current timeline. Right now, there is no one COVID test which is fully accurate. False-negatives are always possible. The result can differ with the time you get tested and show wrong results. antibody tests can offer preventive satisfaction, but do not give conclusive proof that you are fully "safe" from the virus.

City hospitals are reporting a high demand for antibody tests from people eager to find out if they have been infected with Covid-19 or have high chances of contracting it. Doctors say they keep getting repeated requests for these blood-based tests, but they do not encourage them as they do not guarantee protection from future infection.

Health minister Rajesh Tope on Friday said the state was drawing up a policy to test frontline workers using the antibody test, which has been allowed by the Centre.

Fear of coronavirus is making people opt for antibody tests for Covid-19. While the rush is still limited, it is rising with an increase in awareness. More than 37,000 Covid-19 cases have been reported from the city so far. As on December 23, there are around 2,100 active cases in the city.

The Covid-19 response team of Gautam Budh Nagar has decided to pause the rapid antibody tests after the Indian Council of Medical Research gave out an advisory to do so.

Health minister Rajesh Tope said the state is set to roll out antibody test kits to screen frontline workers.

Forty-five-year-old Avinash was taken aback when his Covid antibody test came negative despite taking both vaccine doses, while Bhumika (30) got elated when the test found her with optimum levels of antibodies after taking the first shot.

Diagnostic laboratory chain Thyrocare Technologies on Friday said it has launched 'Covid antibody tests' facility at its labs across the country.

A day after it was started, the Delhi government on Tuesday put rapid antibody tests on hold for two days after reports emerged that the tests produced huge variations in the accuracy of the results in different parts of the country.

Testing capacities in city will increase manifold in a few days as the state government has approved private labs to carry out rapid antibody test, in a video conferencing meeting of different stake holders with chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday.

Three lakh more Rapid antibody test kits being used for quick detection of the Covid-19 have been dispatched to India from Chinese city of Guangzhou, the Indian envoy said on Saturday. About three lakh Rapid antibody test kits were airlifted to Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu from the Chinese city of Guangzhou, Indian Ambassador to China Vikram Misri said.

Doctors are opting for antibody test among Covid patients who have completed 14 days of isolation but still test positive in RT-PCR test.

The PGI has started antibodies test for its healthcare workers only.

Our body produces these antibodies while fighting an infection. This is how we develop immunity against the particular bacteria or virus after being infected with them or after getting the vaccination.

States and Union Territories have been asked to put on hold the use of Covid-19 rapid antibody test kits till their accuracy is rechecked by the ICMR, sources said on Saturday. Teams constituted by ICMR are analysing the rapid antibody test kits, procured from two Chinese firms, to check their efficacy after some states reported that they are faulty, sources said.

These tests are not designed to detect the type of antibodies vaccines make. Expect misleading results and more anxiety

An antibody test might show if you had Covid-19 in the recent past, which most experts think gives people some protection from the virus. The tests are different from the nasal swab tests that determine if you’re currently sick. But studies are still underway to determine what antibody level would be needed for immunity. It’s also not yet known how long any immunity might last.