3 ms·
> Ideally, everyone would be tested for antibodies before receiving a vaccine I agree that would help make optimal decisions with regards to distributing a lim
by criticaltinker 5y ago
> Ideally, everyone would be tested for antibodies before receiving a vaccine
I agree that would help make optimal decisions with regards to distributing a limited supply of vaccine doses.
However it's worth noting that even when antibodies drop below levels detectable by standard tests, individuals are likely to retain robust immune responses that provide sufficient protection from severe outcomes [1][2].
[1] SARS-CoV-2 infection induces long-lived bone marrow plasma cells in humans
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03647-4.pdf https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03647-4.pdf
[2] Prior COVID-19 protects against reinfection, even in the absence of detectable antibodies
https://www.journalofinfection.com/article/S0163-4453(21)00266-8/fulltext https://www.journalofinfection.com/article/S0163-4453(21)002...
- walterbell 5y agoDoes this mean there's a narrow testing window for people to be able to "prove" their natural immunity?
- criticaltinker 5y agoThe window for SARS-CoV-2 antibody tests would be at least 8 months to a year for many individuals. More expensive tests can detect immunity based on T cells for example, which would provide an even longer window. And of course really expensive and invasive bone marrow aspirate tests could provide a window approaching a lifetime - but the tradeoffs involved there would likely be unfavorable for practical “proof”. Who knows what technology we’ll come up with in the future though.