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I took this antibody test through LabCorp on Friday and tested positive. I have been in strict (see: paranoid) isolation with one other person since March 7 and

I took this antibody test through LabCorp on Friday and tested positive. I have been in strict (see: paranoid) isolation with one other person since March 7 and haven't felt sick or anything close to it since then. I did have what I thought was a strange flu/cold early February with a sore throat, post-nasal drip, wildly varying body temperature, and lower back pains. In hindsight those are COVID-19 symptoms. the person I live with took the same Abbott Architect antibody test from LabCorp today so that we can compare results and hopefully eliminate any false positives. more info on the test: https://www.corelaboratory.abbott/us/en/offerings/segments/infectious-disease/sars-cov-2?fbclid=IwAR2lTmGoOE89ddmQKP2Kxr0kCOF1D0uUI3Xs5NHiJbXZRIIPCwW3yqotIR8 https://www.corelaboratory.abbott/us/en/offerings/segments/i... FDA article from 05/07/2020 on serology test performance including the Abbott Architect from OP: https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/emergency-situations-medical-devices/eua-authorized-serology-test-performance https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/emergency-situations-med...

jedberg 6y ago
I've been waiting for a decent serum test because both my wife and I had "the flu" with symptoms consistent with COVID-19, me in mid-January and her in late February. How did you get the test?
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- cerebral_oasis 6y ago
  https://www.labcorp.com/antibody-testing https://www.labcorp.com/antibody-testing $10 for a "virtual assessement" and ~$100 for the test for uninsured, but my insurance covered it. I scheduled it same day and it took a total of 20 minutes in and out with blood draw. I received my results via email in 2 days.
- colechristensen 6y ago
  I had the same test through Circle Medical, was able make the appointment and get the test in the same day.
  - conanbatt 6y ago
    We have lots of availability still!
guscost 6y ago
Just took the Quest version today. I traveled a lot in February but only felt mildly under-the-weather once, so it's a long shot. Even if I was exposed, we don't really know the seroconversion rates for mild/asymptomatic cases.
- thoraway1010 6y ago
  My test results didn't share what platform was used. - August
- ofcrpls 6y ago
  Just back from the Quest draw myself. After a week's worth of drive tests in February with a colleague who had just come back after a 6 week vacation in EU with his family, I caught the nastiest flu I've had. Self isolated till I got better and after 1 day back in the office, the company imposed compulsory WFH.
thoraway1010 6y ago
The results I got had a big FDA warning that positive results may be a result of other infections (ie, that the tests are not specific to covid). I feel like the WHO (body may not produce antibodies as part of beating covid, antibodies have not been shown to confer any immunity) and now the FDA may be talking about true but theoretical issues. What is the REAL rate, in the USA, of folks who have for example MERS antibodies that will trigger a false positive in this type of test. Ie, do these tests really come back positive for MERS antibodies and how likely am I to have had MERS but not covid so that I get that false positive? Given the FDA warning (which was the biggest thing on my results) I'm guessing 30%+ of positives are a result of these situations? But interested in actual data
- timr 6y ago
  MERS and SARS are not a huge concern (they never achieved wide circulation), but coronaviruses make up ~40% of what we know as the common cold. That said, if the false positive rate were that high, the specificity of the test would be low.
  - Scipio_Afri 6y ago
    These tests are not FDA approved, they're being allowed under emergency use authorization. They're not subject to the same rigger as tests normally allowed on the market and the manufacturer's specifications may be overstated.
    - timr 6y ago
      "They're not subject to the same rigger as tests normally allowed on the market and the manufacturer's specifications may be overstated." "rigor" Also, the error bars on these may be wider than is usual for an approved test, but they are just as likely to be understated as overstated.
      - rswail 6y ago
        "rigour" :)
fourstar 6y ago
Would you mind describing that lower back pain a little bit more? Location, sensitivity, etc?
chrischen 6y ago
I had post nasal drip and runny nose and my Forward doctor ruled it out as Covid based on that. This was after having cold symptoms in Dec last year already (usually I would only get sick once a year).
chime 6y ago
Did your doctor have to refer you to LabCorp? I read that LabCorp doesn't want any walk-ins.
- tnorthcutt 6y ago
  From that page: The test can also be conveniently requested through LabCorp.com using an independent physician service, PWNHealth, to determine if the test is right for you.
- ridgeguy 6y ago
  I just went through the signup. Took 8 minutes and did not require a referral.
Alex3917 6y ago
Where does it say that LabCorp uses the Abbott Architect platform? Couldn't find it on their website. (Unlike, say, healthlabs.com)
- cerebral_oasis 6y ago
  you're right, it's hard to find that definitively online. however, it lists it on my emailed test results as well as a friend's who did it on the same day. that doesn't mean they're not using multiple test types though. maybe worth calling and asking if they use it everywhere?
jrockway 6y ago
Good anecdote. I also had a "weird cold" in February with symptoms that are unusual for me but typical of COVID-19, and have been waiting to get the antibody test. I kind of expect it to turn out the same way. (Otherwise, I would really like to figure out what the "weird cold" that everyone had in February was. Because it sure was weird, and everyone I know had it.)
- ssully 6y ago
  I had something weird in March. It was a mix of a mild burning feeling in my chest, loss of appetite, and fatigue. I honestly thought it was just anxiety related to the quarantine manifesting in symptoms, and it very well might have been, but I have no idea.
- GabeIsman 6y ago
  Another New Yorker with a weird cold at the end of February here!
- ardit33 6y ago
  took this test this Friday (Quest Direct) in NYC and tested negative. In late Feb. I had a 'flu like symptoms' with fever and massive headache for few days. What worried me later is that I had the 'can't taste anything' symptom a week later. No coughing though. If you read online, you see people swear they had it at some point this winter. So, if you had a 'flu like' symptoms in Feb or early March, perhaps it was just that... It cost $110 and personally I think it was worth it... (it is a reminder to be more careful as I can still get it)...
  - jrockway 6y ago
    I also signed up for the test. Should be interesting.
  - CydeWeys 6y ago
    Similar story here, had COVID-19-like symptoms in mid-March, but the Abbott test (administered at CityMD) came back negative. It makes me wonder what exactly is going on with this test. Do some people not produce antibodies? Is it overly specific to one strain of the virus and other people in NYC got a different strain that doesn't produce compatible antibodies? Was there some non-COVID-19 respiratory infection that hit NYC at around that same time that went under the radar? Is this test somehow just not as good as we think it is?
rconti 6y ago
Interesting. I've long been of the opinion that I was definitely NOT exposed to it, although I had a persistent lingering cold in late feb/early march. (Symptoms took way longer than usual to clear -- but no flu symptoms). That said, if it was in California before folks thought it was, it's theoretically possible. My wife works in a hospital and will be tested for COVID-19 and antibodies, FINALLY, sometime this week (we think). If, for some reason, she happens to have antibodies, I'm going right out to get tested myself-- and, actually, I'd like us BOTH to get tested for antibodies (second time for her) because otherwise we'd be left guessing if one of us had antibodies and the other did not.
- indecisive_user 6y ago
  This is your wife whom you presumably spend most of your time with and sleep next to, right? With the long incubation period and how contagious it is, I'd assume the chance of a false negative (.1% in the new Abbott test) would be higher than her having caught it and somehow not passing it to you.
djaque 6y ago
Yeah, I'm pretty sure I had it and didn't have bad symptons back in Feb. too. Just a light sore throat and generally feeling gross. It'll be interesting to see how many people really caught it once this is all over.
dbancajas 6y ago
> sore throat, post-nasal drip, wildly varying body temperature, and lower back pains. In hindsight those are COVID-19 symptoms. > the person I live with took the same Abbott Architect antibody test from LabCorp today so that we can where did you get the test and how much?
- texasbigdata 6y ago
  Quest is apparently selling them too. Really difficult to get one confirmed in Texas anecdotaly.
JohnTHaller 6y ago
The weirdly varying body temperature bit is what most folks I know who were symptomatic had at one point. Not a typical cold or flu response. Side note: Anytime the rest of my sense of smell wants to wake up would be nice. Sooner would be better.
- CydeWeys 6y ago
  I had all the COVID-19 symptoms including the weirdly varying body temperature, and I'm in NYC, but my Abbott test (taken 1.5 months after symptoms) came back negative. Who knows what's going on.
- Marsymars 6y ago
  > The weirdly varying body temperature bit is what most folks I know who were symptomatic had at one point. Not a typical cold or flu response. I have that pretty much every time I get the flu.
CydeWeys 6y ago
Here's my opposite anecdote: I live in NYC and in mid-March I had all of the headline COVID-19 symptoms, including most notably shortness of breath (which I've never before experienced in my life short of high altitude hiking). I got the Abbott test two weeks ago, and the result came back negative. I was so sure I'd had it, but now it's looking like maybe I didn't.
- aklein 6y ago
  I remember reading that some people, especially those under 40, don’t develop observable antibodies. Or, could’ve just been the flu. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/07/health/coronavirus-antibody-prevalence.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/07/health/coronavirus-antibo...
  - CydeWeys 6y ago
    "Because tests to diagnose coronavirus infection were unavailable to most people in New York City in March, the researchers included another 719 people in their study who suspected they had Covid-19 based on symptoms and exposure to the virus, but in whom the illness had not been diagnosed. In this group, the researchers found a different picture altogether. The majority of these people — 62 percent — did not seem to have antibodies. Some of them may have been tested too soon after their illness for antibodies to be detectable. But many probably mistook influenza, another viral infection or even allergies for Covid-19, Dr. Wajnberg said." Yeouch, that could be me in that group. Also: "The team tested 624 people who had tested positive for the virus and had recovered. At first, just 511 of them had high antibody levels; 42 had low levels; and 71 had none. When 64 of the subjects with weak or no levels were retested more than a week later, however, all but three had at least some antibodies." It's been well past the 3 weeks for me that they're recommending. I'm gonna get another test and if that also comes back negative, it seems likely that I didn't actually have it.
usaar333 6y ago
Is a 99.9% specitivity good enough though to conclude you had covid? Assuming you are in the US, your prior on having been infected in early February is well below 0.1% (not sure how much the covid-like symptoms would boost that). So conditionally speaking, it seems quite plausible this is a false positive.
- arcticbull 6y ago
  > Assuming you are in the US, your prior on having been infected in early February is well below 0.1% I think we won't know that for a while, yeah? That's part of what we could learn from these tests.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- ShinTakuya 6y ago
  There's a lot of anecdotal evidence for people experiencing strange flu-like illnesses all around the world as early as January. It's possible GP was infected with the weaker strain that was said to have existed (although I'm not sure if that argument's been refuted by now, I remember it was controversial).
  - iso947 6y ago
    “anecdotal evidence” That an oxymoron
agumonkey 6y ago
Did your symptoms came and went in waves too ?
newacct583 6y ago
Out of curiosity: why were you tested if you've been in strict isolation for two months?
dba7dba 6y ago
I also had a very sudden onset of a severe body ache around Feb 2020. I started having some pre-flu symptoms. And after one day, I started having a very severe body ace and it came so suddenly. I have never felt sudden onset of body ache from a flu/cold before. I took a nap for 2 hrs or so and it fortunately went away almost immediately. I know a family friend who were scheduled to go on a trip in early Feb 2020 but cancelled it because both had very severe flu symptom. This was an important trip (a road trip of few hrs to visit family) that had been scheduled weeks ago. One of them to told me he had a meeting with a visitor from China who had mask on. And they think they might have had Covid-19 but no way to know until they get the antibody test. And I did get my flu shot.
icelancer 6y ago
Thanks. I signed up for the test as well.
rozab 6y ago
The fact that the US government isn't buying up the full testing capacity of the private sector... Jesus fucking christ
sporkland 6y ago
How do you know you got that specific test? It looks like it's their second IgG antibody test and their fourth overall[1]. It also looks like the architect moniker just seems to be their testing platform? I assume their previous IgG antibody test was built on it. I don't know much about this space, would just like to get the test done and would prefer one with high specificity and low false positive rate. [1] https://www.medtechdive.com/news/latest-abbott-coronavirus-antibody-test-receives-fda-emergency-use-ok/577667/ https://www.medtechdive.com/news/latest-abbott-coronavirus-a...

jedberg 6y ago

I've been waiting for a decent serum test because both my wife and I had "the flu" with symptoms consistent with COVID-19, me in mid-January and her in late February. How did you get the test?

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
cerebral_oasis 6y ago
https://www.labcorp.com/antibody-testing https://www.labcorp.com/antibody-testing $10 for a "virtual assessement" and ~$100 for the test for uninsured, but my insurance covered it. I scheduled it same day and it took a total of 20 minutes in and out with blood draw. I received my results via email in 2 days.
colechristensen 6y ago
I had the same test through Circle Medical, was able make the appointment and get the test in the same day.
- conanbatt 6y ago
  We have lots of availability still!

guscost 6y ago

Just took the Quest version today. I traveled a lot in February but only felt mildly under-the-weather once, so it's a long shot. Even if I was exposed, we don't really know the seroconversion rates for mild/asymptomatic cases.

thoraway1010 6y ago
My test results didn't share what platform was used. - August
ofcrpls 6y ago
Just back from the Quest draw myself. After a week's worth of drive tests in February with a colleague who had just come back after a 6 week vacation in EU with his family, I caught the nastiest flu I've had. Self isolated till I got better and after 1 day back in the office, the company imposed compulsory WFH.

thoraway1010 6y ago

The results I got had a big FDA warning that positive results may be a result of other infections (ie, that the tests are not specific to covid). I feel like the WHO (body may not produce antibodies as part of beating covid, antibodies have not been shown to confer any immunity) and now the FDA may be talking about true but theoretical issues. What is the REAL rate, in the USA, of folks who have for example MERS antibodies that will trigger a false positive in this type of test. Ie, do these tests really come back positive for MERS antibodies and how likely am I to have had MERS but not covid so that I get that false positive? Given the FDA warning (which was the biggest thing on my results) I'm guessing 30%+ of positives are a result of these situations? But interested in actual data

timr 6y ago
MERS and SARS are not a huge concern (they never achieved wide circulation), but coronaviruses make up ~40% of what we know as the common cold. That said, if the false positive rate were that high, the specificity of the test would be low.
- Scipio_Afri 6y ago
  These tests are not FDA approved, they're being allowed under emergency use authorization. They're not subject to the same rigger as tests normally allowed on the market and the manufacturer's specifications may be overstated.
  - timr 6y ago
    "They're not subject to the same rigger as tests normally allowed on the market and the manufacturer's specifications may be overstated." "rigor" Also, the error bars on these may be wider than is usual for an approved test, but they are just as likely to be understated as overstated.
    - rswail 6y ago
      "rigour" :)

fourstar 6y ago

Would you mind describing that lower back pain a little bit more? Location, sensitivity, etc?

chrischen 6y ago

I had post nasal drip and runny nose and my Forward doctor ruled it out as Covid based on that. This was after having cold symptoms in Dec last year already (usually I would only get sick once a year).

chime 6y ago

Did your doctor have to refer you to LabCorp? I read that LabCorp doesn't want any walk-ins.

tnorthcutt 6y ago
From that page: The test can also be conveniently requested through LabCorp.com using an independent physician service, PWNHealth, to determine if the test is right for you.
ridgeguy 6y ago
I just went through the signup. Took 8 minutes and did not require a referral.

Alex3917 6y ago

Where does it say that LabCorp uses the Abbott Architect platform? Couldn't find it on their website. (Unlike, say, healthlabs.com)

cerebral_oasis 6y ago
you're right, it's hard to find that definitively online. however, it lists it on my emailed test results as well as a friend's who did it on the same day. that doesn't mean they're not using multiple test types though. maybe worth calling and asking if they use it everywhere?

jrockway 6y ago

Good anecdote. I also had a "weird cold" in February with symptoms that are unusual for me but typical of COVID-19, and have been waiting to get the antibody test. I kind of expect it to turn out the same way. (Otherwise, I would really like to figure out what the "weird cold" that everyone had in February was. Because it sure was weird, and everyone I know had it.)

ssully 6y ago
I had something weird in March. It was a mix of a mild burning feeling in my chest, loss of appetite, and fatigue. I honestly thought it was just anxiety related to the quarantine manifesting in symptoms, and it very well might have been, but I have no idea.
GabeIsman 6y ago
Another New Yorker with a weird cold at the end of February here!
ardit33 6y ago
took this test this Friday (Quest Direct) in NYC and tested negative. In late Feb. I had a 'flu like symptoms' with fever and massive headache for few days. What worried me later is that I had the 'can't taste anything' symptom a week later. No coughing though. If you read online, you see people swear they had it at some point this winter. So, if you had a 'flu like' symptoms in Feb or early March, perhaps it was just that... It cost $110 and personally I think it was worth it... (it is a reminder to be more careful as I can still get it)...
- jrockway 6y ago
  I also signed up for the test. Should be interesting.
- CydeWeys 6y ago
  Similar story here, had COVID-19-like symptoms in mid-March, but the Abbott test (administered at CityMD) came back negative. It makes me wonder what exactly is going on with this test. Do some people not produce antibodies? Is it overly specific to one strain of the virus and other people in NYC got a different strain that doesn't produce compatible antibodies? Was there some non-COVID-19 respiratory infection that hit NYC at around that same time that went under the radar? Is this test somehow just not as good as we think it is?

rconti 6y ago

Interesting. I've long been of the opinion that I was definitely NOT exposed to it, although I had a persistent lingering cold in late feb/early march. (Symptoms took way longer than usual to clear -- but no flu symptoms). That said, if it was in California before folks thought it was, it's theoretically possible. My wife works in a hospital and will be tested for COVID-19 and antibodies, FINALLY, sometime this week (we think). If, for some reason, she happens to have antibodies, I'm going right out to get tested myself-- and, actually, I'd like us BOTH to get tested for antibodies (second time for her) because otherwise we'd be left guessing if one of us had antibodies and the other did not.

indecisive_user 6y ago
This is your wife whom you presumably spend most of your time with and sleep next to, right? With the long incubation period and how contagious it is, I'd assume the chance of a false negative (.1% in the new Abbott test) would be higher than her having caught it and somehow not passing it to you.

djaque 6y ago

Yeah, I'm pretty sure I had it and didn't have bad symptons back in Feb. too. Just a light sore throat and generally feeling gross. It'll be interesting to see how many people really caught it once this is all over.

dbancajas 6y ago

> sore throat, post-nasal drip, wildly varying body temperature, and lower back pains. In hindsight those are COVID-19 symptoms. > the person I live with took the same Abbott Architect antibody test from LabCorp today so that we can where did you get the test and how much?

texasbigdata 6y ago
Quest is apparently selling them too. Really difficult to get one confirmed in Texas anecdotaly.

JohnTHaller 6y ago

The weirdly varying body temperature bit is what most folks I know who were symptomatic had at one point. Not a typical cold or flu response. Side note: Anytime the rest of my sense of smell wants to wake up would be nice. Sooner would be better.

CydeWeys 6y ago
I had all the COVID-19 symptoms including the weirdly varying body temperature, and I'm in NYC, but my Abbott test (taken 1.5 months after symptoms) came back negative. Who knows what's going on.
Marsymars 6y ago
> The weirdly varying body temperature bit is what most folks I know who were symptomatic had at one point. Not a typical cold or flu response. I have that pretty much every time I get the flu.

CydeWeys 6y ago

Here's my opposite anecdote: I live in NYC and in mid-March I had all of the headline COVID-19 symptoms, including most notably shortness of breath (which I've never before experienced in my life short of high altitude hiking). I got the Abbott test two weeks ago, and the result came back negative. I was so sure I'd had it, but now it's looking like maybe I didn't.

aklein 6y ago
I remember reading that some people, especially those under 40, don’t develop observable antibodies. Or, could’ve just been the flu. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/07/health/coronavirus-antibody-prevalence.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/07/health/coronavirus-antibo...
- CydeWeys 6y ago
  "Because tests to diagnose coronavirus infection were unavailable to most people in New York City in March, the researchers included another 719 people in their study who suspected they had Covid-19 based on symptoms and exposure to the virus, but in whom the illness had not been diagnosed. In this group, the researchers found a different picture altogether. The majority of these people — 62 percent — did not seem to have antibodies. Some of them may have been tested too soon after their illness for antibodies to be detectable. But many probably mistook influenza, another viral infection or even allergies for Covid-19, Dr. Wajnberg said." Yeouch, that could be me in that group. Also: "The team tested 624 people who had tested positive for the virus and had recovered. At first, just 511 of them had high antibody levels; 42 had low levels; and 71 had none. When 64 of the subjects with weak or no levels were retested more than a week later, however, all but three had at least some antibodies." It's been well past the 3 weeks for me that they're recommending. I'm gonna get another test and if that also comes back negative, it seems likely that I didn't actually have it.

usaar333 6y ago

Is a 99.9% specitivity good enough though to conclude you had covid? Assuming you are in the US, your prior on having been infected in early February is well below 0.1% (not sure how much the covid-like symptoms would boost that). So conditionally speaking, it seems quite plausible this is a false positive.

arcticbull 6y ago
> Assuming you are in the US, your prior on having been infected in early February is well below 0.1% I think we won't know that for a while, yeah? That's part of what we could learn from these tests.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
ShinTakuya 6y ago
There's a lot of anecdotal evidence for people experiencing strange flu-like illnesses all around the world as early as January. It's possible GP was infected with the weaker strain that was said to have existed (although I'm not sure if that argument's been refuted by now, I remember it was controversial).
- iso947 6y ago
  “anecdotal evidence” That an oxymoron

agumonkey 6y ago

Did your symptoms came and went in waves too ?

newacct583 6y ago

Out of curiosity: why were you tested if you've been in strict isolation for two months?

dba7dba 6y ago

I also had a very sudden onset of a severe body ache around Feb 2020. I started having some pre-flu symptoms. And after one day, I started having a very severe body ace and it came so suddenly. I have never felt sudden onset of body ache from a flu/cold before. I took a nap for 2 hrs or so and it fortunately went away almost immediately. I know a family friend who were scheduled to go on a trip in early Feb 2020 but cancelled it because both had very severe flu symptom. This was an important trip (a road trip of few hrs to visit family) that had been scheduled weeks ago. One of them to told me he had a meeting with a visitor from China who had mask on. And they think they might have had Covid-19 but no way to know until they get the antibody test. And I did get my flu shot.

icelancer 6y ago

Thanks. I signed up for the test as well.

rozab 6y ago

The fact that the US government isn't buying up the full testing capacity of the private sector... Jesus fucking christ

sporkland 6y ago

How do you know you got that specific test? It looks like it's their second IgG antibody test and their fourth overall[1]. It also looks like the architect moniker just seems to be their testing platform? I assume their previous IgG antibody test was built on it. I don't know much about this space, would just like to get the test done and would prefer one with high specificity and low false positive rate. [1] https://www.medtechdive.com/news/latest-abbott-coronavirus-antibody-test-receives-fda-emergency-use-ok/577667/ https://www.medtechdive.com/news/latest-abbott-coronavirus-a...