The UK Plans to take Antibody Test for Covid 19 Positive Patients

The UK government has planned a new surveillance scheme for antibodies that will make available, for free, Antibody tests at home for people infected with the coronavirus disease. Health secretary Sajid Javid said that Antibody testing would be rolled out to thousands of adults per day across the UK.

Sajid Javid also added that if you have tested positive for Covid-19, then you must opt-in to help us better understand the effectiveness of the vaccines and develop future treatments. From Tuesday, anyone over 18 from any of the four UK nations can opt into the program when receiving a PCR test.The ones who test positive for Covid 19, up to 8,000, will be sent two-finger prick Antibody tests to complete at home and send back for analysis. The first must be taken as soon as possible after the positive result, and the second must be taken 28 days later.

The UK Health Security Agency, which is running the program, will work with NHS test and trace services in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland and use the results to monitor levels of antibodies in positive cases across the UK. The Department of Health and Social Care says it will be the first time Antibody tests have been made available to the general public, and the scheme could also provide insight into any groups of people who do not develop an immune response.

People who are willing to take part must take the first Antibody test after receiving a positive PCR result, so the body does not have time to generate a detectable response to the infection. The second test should be taken 28 days later and will measure antibodies generated in response to the infection.