UK Offers COVID-19 Antibody Tests to Study Immune Response in Patients

It would help gain "vital insight" into the impact of the vaccination drive and immune responses to variants.

It would help the UK gain "vital insight" into the impact of the vaccination programme and immune responses to different variants.

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COVID-positive people in the United Kingdom will soon get free home antibody tests, a move that aims at improving the understanding of immune responses developed in people from vaccination and the COVID-19 infection, the government informed on Sunday, 22 August.

Anyone above 18 will get a chance to opt for the antibody tests while getting an RTPCR test. Those who test positive for the virus will be sent the antibody test. A total of 8,000 tests will be made available to COVID-positive people every day, a report in the BBC said.

The first test must be taken immediately after testing positive for COVID-19, before the body generates a detectable antibody response to the infection. The second test must be taken after 28 days to measure antibodies generated in response to the infection, the report said.

UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid said that the test "would be quick and easy" and would "strengthen our understanding of COVID-19 as we cautiously return to a more normal life."

The data collected from the tests would help gauge the number of people who got COVID-19 despite having antibodies, either from the vaccine or a previous infection. It will also be a helpful tool in studying people who do not develop an immune response.

"It is vital that we have the fullest understanding possible of vaccine effectiveness and the immune response of the broader population," Humza Yousaf, Scotland's Health Secretary was quoted saying.

"The rollout of this antibody testing study will help us achieve this and could play an important role in the battle to keep the virus under control," Yousaf added.

The UK Health Security Agency, however, warned that having antibodies does not make one completely immune to COVID-19, and people should continue following COVID-appropriate behaviour like before.

On Saturday, the UK reported 32,253 new cases in the last 24 hours. The country also saw 49 deaths of people who had tested positive within the previous 28 days.

(With inputs from IANS and PTI.)