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Off topic, but related enough that I feel its relevant to mention: I learned this week that many blood donation and plasma centers [1][2] are doing Coronavirus

Off topic, but related enough that I feel its relevant to mention: I learned this week that many blood donation and plasma centers [1][2] are doing Coronavirus antibody tests for anyone* that donates right now. I've heard a lot of people in my social / online circles comment how they wish they knew whether or not they had antibodies. Seems like a great way to find out. [1] https://www.redcrossblood.org/donate-blood/dlp/covid-19-antibody-testing.html https://www.redcrossblood.org/donate-blood/dlp/covid-19-anti... [2] https://www.lifeservebloodcenter.org/donate/recovered-covid-19-patient-plasma-donation/ https://www.lifeservebloodcenter.org/donate/recovered-covid-... * Probably not literally anyone, but it sounds like they are giving them out pretty freely.

isthisreality 6y ago
I recommend reading this blog post [1] about the unknowns of immunity. Antibodies are only part of the immunity picture, as this tweetstorm [2] concisely explains. [1] https://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2020/07/07/more-on-t-cells-antibody-levels-and-our-ignorance https://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2020/07/07/mo... [2] https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1278400526716211200?s=19 https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1278400526716211200?s=1...
rbritton 6y ago
Can confirm it’s not anyone but probably anyone eligible to donate. My sister could not due to visiting Guatemala in the last year.
- Bombthecat 6y ago
  What's the reason here? Do they expect an infection after a year?
  - untog 6y ago
    There are a lot of not-altogether-scientific reasons. Gay people can’t give blood. If I recall correctly British people can’t either because of Foot and Mouth disease, something that happened in the 90s.
    - vinay427 6y ago
      They are based on reasons that are statistically founded in some way because not everyone's blood can be tested as extensively as anyone would like, so reducing risk factors helps. I can't speak for every country but this is at least the case for the ones I've lived in and donated in. Also, it's no longer true in many (most?) places that "gay people" can't give blood, as the distinguishing factor nowadays is usually recent sexual activity.
      - cyphar 6y ago
        Note that "recent at-risk sexual activity" specifically means (among other things) a man engaging in sex with another man in the past 12 months (at least that's the case in Australia[1]). Practically speaking this means that the vast majority of gay men cannot donate blood -- even if the criteria don't explicitly say the words "gay men cannot donate blood". Don't get me wrong, I agree that there are purely statistical reasons why these restrictions are in place (blood banks aren't out looking for excuses to reduce their supplies) -- but it's really not accurate to say that it's no longer the case that gay men cannot donate blood. I also hasten to note that having many sexual partners is not considered "at-risk sexual activity" (though there are some exceptions), while two monogamous men in a homosexual relationship having sex is always considered as being "at-risk". [1]: https://www.donateblood.com.au/faq/sexual-activity https://www.donateblood.com.au/faq/sexual-activity
      - untog 6y ago
        > In 2015, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) relaxed its guidance but still required men to abstain from sex with another man for at least a year before they could give blood, a policy that the the American Public Health Association said was “not based in science”. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/apr/18/us-blood-donation-gay-men-coronavirus https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/apr/18/us-blood-don... Note that includes gay men in monogamous relationships too. It is a ban on gay men by another name.
    - the-dude 6y ago
      Probably Jacobs-Creuzfeld, not Foot and Mouth.
pmoriarty 6y ago
"I've heard a lot of people in my social / online circles comment how they wish they knew whether or not they had antibodies" What people need to realize is that the important questions are not whether you've got antibodies but: 1 - whether you'll sick when you're exposed to the virus again 2 - how sick you'll get the next time around No one knows the answers to these questions yet, and we also don't know how antibodies bear on the answers to these questions. It is possible that even with antibodies you'll still get sick if you're exposed to the virus (as we know is the case for some other diseases), and even if antibodies play some role in how sick you'll get it's possible that (again, as is the case with some diseases) repeated exposure to the virus will cause even greater illness than the first time around. People shouldn't be assuming that having antibodies means they're immune.. we just don't know enough yet to say whether that's true or not. Even if it is true, there might be a certain level of antibodies that are required to have a certain level of immunity, and we don't know yet what level of antibodies are necessary, nor the kind of antibodies necessary, Finally, even if antibodies do grant immunity, we don't know how long that immunity would last, nor if such immunity varies from person to person for some not yet known reason.
- bosswipe 6y ago
  If people could get reinfected we would have heard of more of those cases by now. We can be pretty sure that it confers several months of immunity at minimum.
  - sroussey 6y ago
    Yes, 2-6 for sure.
  - e98cuenc 6y ago
    A few days ago spanish media reported that one of the latest outbreak in Lleida affected a residence. They tested all inmates in the residence with PCR, and found 8 positives. 5 of these 8 had COVID-19 a few months ago with the first wave (I guess march / april).
- sroussey 6y ago
  Dengue fever antibodies make the second infection lethal.
renewiltord 6y ago
The Labcorp test in the bay is literally free with a referral or $10 to get them to refer you to themselves. It's so easy.
_wldu 6y ago
Covid antibodies seem to fade quickly (similar to other cold family viruses). Some people only keep them for a few months after infection. - https://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2020/07/15/new-data-on-t-cells-and-the-coronavirus https://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2020/07/15/ne... - https://abcnews.go.com/Health/covid-19-antibodies-fade-months-study/story?id=71406787 https://abcnews.go.com/Health/covid-19-antibodies-fade-month... Also, anecdotally, a friend donated blood at the Red Cross and found he had covid antibodies. He had not been sick and has had no symptoms.
- nedoka 6y ago
  99% of the deaths are of people over the age of 50. Bigger chance to die in a car crash if you're under 50, so I don't think the human immune system takes the virus serious.

isthisreality 6y ago

I recommend reading this blog post [1] about the unknowns of immunity. Antibodies are only part of the immunity picture, as this tweetstorm [2] concisely explains. [1] https://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2020/07/07/more-on-t-cells-antibody-levels-and-our-ignorance https://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2020/07/07/mo... [2] https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1278400526716211200?s=19 https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1278400526716211200?s=1...

rbritton 6y ago

Can confirm it’s not anyone but probably anyone eligible to donate. My sister could not due to visiting Guatemala in the last year.

Bombthecat 6y ago
What's the reason here? Do they expect an infection after a year?
- untog 6y ago
  There are a lot of not-altogether-scientific reasons. Gay people can’t give blood. If I recall correctly British people can’t either because of Foot and Mouth disease, something that happened in the 90s.
  - vinay427 6y ago
    They are based on reasons that are statistically founded in some way because not everyone's blood can be tested as extensively as anyone would like, so reducing risk factors helps. I can't speak for every country but this is at least the case for the ones I've lived in and donated in. Also, it's no longer true in many (most?) places that "gay people" can't give blood, as the distinguishing factor nowadays is usually recent sexual activity.
    - cyphar 6y ago
      Note that "recent at-risk sexual activity" specifically means (among other things) a man engaging in sex with another man in the past 12 months (at least that's the case in Australia[1]). Practically speaking this means that the vast majority of gay men cannot donate blood -- even if the criteria don't explicitly say the words "gay men cannot donate blood". Don't get me wrong, I agree that there are purely statistical reasons why these restrictions are in place (blood banks aren't out looking for excuses to reduce their supplies) -- but it's really not accurate to say that it's no longer the case that gay men cannot donate blood. I also hasten to note that having many sexual partners is not considered "at-risk sexual activity" (though there are some exceptions), while two monogamous men in a homosexual relationship having sex is always considered as being "at-risk". [1]: https://www.donateblood.com.au/faq/sexual-activity https://www.donateblood.com.au/faq/sexual-activity
    - untog 6y ago
      > In 2015, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) relaxed its guidance but still required men to abstain from sex with another man for at least a year before they could give blood, a policy that the the American Public Health Association said was “not based in science”. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/apr/18/us-blood-donation-gay-men-coronavirus https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/apr/18/us-blood-don... Note that includes gay men in monogamous relationships too. It is a ban on gay men by another name.
  - the-dude 6y ago
    Probably Jacobs-Creuzfeld, not Foot and Mouth.

pmoriarty 6y ago

"I've heard a lot of people in my social / online circles comment how they wish they knew whether or not they had antibodies" What people need to realize is that the important questions are not whether you've got antibodies but: 1 - whether you'll sick when you're exposed to the virus again 2 - how sick you'll get the next time around No one knows the answers to these questions yet, and we also don't know how antibodies bear on the answers to these questions. It is possible that even with antibodies you'll still get sick if you're exposed to the virus (as we know is the case for some other diseases), and even if antibodies play some role in how sick you'll get it's possible that (again, as is the case with some diseases) repeated exposure to the virus will cause even greater illness than the first time around. People shouldn't be assuming that having antibodies means they're immune.. we just don't know enough yet to say whether that's true or not. Even if it is true, there might be a certain level of antibodies that are required to have a certain level of immunity, and we don't know yet what level of antibodies are necessary, nor the kind of antibodies necessary, Finally, even if antibodies do grant immunity, we don't know how long that immunity would last, nor if such immunity varies from person to person for some not yet known reason.

bosswipe 6y ago
If people could get reinfected we would have heard of more of those cases by now. We can be pretty sure that it confers several months of immunity at minimum.
- sroussey 6y ago
  Yes, 2-6 for sure.
- e98cuenc 6y ago
  A few days ago spanish media reported that one of the latest outbreak in Lleida affected a residence. They tested all inmates in the residence with PCR, and found 8 positives. 5 of these 8 had COVID-19 a few months ago with the first wave (I guess march / april).
sroussey 6y ago
Dengue fever antibodies make the second infection lethal.

renewiltord 6y ago

The Labcorp test in the bay is literally free with a referral or $10 to get them to refer you to themselves. It's so easy.

_wldu 6y ago

Covid antibodies seem to fade quickly (similar to other cold family viruses). Some people only keep them for a few months after infection. - https://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2020/07/15/new-data-on-t-cells-and-the-coronavirus https://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2020/07/15/ne... - https://abcnews.go.com/Health/covid-19-antibodies-fade-months-study/story?id=71406787 https://abcnews.go.com/Health/covid-19-antibodies-fade-month... Also, anecdotally, a friend donated blood at the Red Cross and found he had covid antibodies. He had not been sick and has had no symptoms.

nedoka 6y ago
99% of the deaths are of people over the age of 50. Bigger chance to die in a car crash if you're under 50, so I don't think the human immune system takes the virus serious.