COVID-19: US Anti-body tests disappoint

In April, during the height of the coronavirus lockdown, Trump administration health experts hailed a test that would confirm if someone had already had the virus and therefore couldn't get sick again. 

The antibody test would show who might have "the wonderful, beautiful immunity," President Donald Trump said was needed to get the nation working again. 

Months later, the tests exist but haven't fulfilled their promise of allowing Americans to reclaim their lives, said Dr. Jennifer Rakeman of New York City's Public Health Laboratory. 

In fighting off the virus, the body makes antibodies, which the tests measure. Unfortunately, scientists are still figuring out how well and for how long antibodies provide the immunity that protects against another infection by the coronavirus. 

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In truth, "there's no easy path to this knowledge" about immunity, Marc Jenkins of the University of Minnesota said. Long-term human or animal studies are usually needed to reach answers about immunity. Much of that work is done by the National Institutes of Health and universities, but they are occupied developing a vaccine against the coronavirus. 

Until more is known, antibody tests should not be used to determine when it is safe to return to work or school, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Medical Association. 

But the tests are useful in large studies to see how widely the coronavirus has spread and to screen people who have recovered and could donate their blood plasma for use as a treatment for those in the throes of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. 

SOURCE: voanews