Coronavirus Testing: University Of Minnesota, Mayo Clinic Prepare COVID-19 Antibody Test Kits

The University of Minnesota and Mayo Clinic are preparing antibody tests that can find out if a person has already developed COVID-19 infection but are no longer threats to get or spread the same.

The Minnesota state officials find these tests as a key part of the state’s pandemic response because these tests: 1) could define the breadth of COVID-19 outbreak; and 2) can help identify previously infected coronavirus patients who can now move about freely in public.

“Identifying people with immunity to the virus gives us the ability to know who wouldn’t need to be quarantined, who could be out and not infecting others,” StarTribune quoted Gov. Tim Walz.

COVID-19 antibodies

Your immune system usually produces antibodies in response to infections and can be found via tests of blood serum, which is a clear liquid that separates during blood clots. But, in the case of the new Coronavirus, the antibodies do not show up in sufficient quantities until 8-11 days after one gets infected.

For this reason, antibody testing might not be effective for early diagnosis but can be a potentially powerful tool in finding out if an infected person whether or not they exhibited symptoms.

“In theory, you probably want to test everybody in the country. It’s going to take a lot more samples … to validate the test. But we have a pipeline to do it and the results from these early tests were so clean that I’m pretty hopeful,” Startribune quoted Marc Jenkins, director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Immunology.

Here’s why antibody testing might be important:

• If healthcare workers have already been infected, they could be having immunity. However, there is limited evidence that individuals cannot be reinfected by COVID-19.
• Health officials will be able to use the test to determine whether a community has achieved ‘herd immunity.’
• Since it would allow both the sick and the healthy people to find out how many of them have been infected, these tests can provide a more accurate picture.
• These tests can help determine the true case fatality rate.
• A reliable test could be a relief to several individuals if they are aware that they have immunity.

“Just for the psychological well-being of a lot of people, this could have real value,” Startribune quoted Jenkins.