Skip to main content

Antibody testing: not a panacea, still worth doing

antibody testing
Enlarge Icon

We don't know for sure whether recovering from COVID-19 will confer lasting protective immunity. But, says the head of UW Virology, individuals and the public health system deserve all the information they can get.

On Tuesday, the University of Washington's Virology lab took in just under 1600 tests for the live coronavirus. But it also took in about a thousand tests from people who think they might have already had it and recovered.

Antibody testing is a blood draw looking for evidence that your body has already mounted a successful response to the virus. Dr. Keith Jerome, head of Virology at UW's Department of Laboratory Medicine, explained the hopes and unknowns surrounding test results.

Why you can trust KUOW
Close
On Air Shows

Print

Print

Play Audio
 Live Now On KUOW
Live Wire
Next: The New Yorker Radio Hour in 13 mins
On Air Shows

Print

Print

Play Audio
Local Newscast
The Latest
View All
    Play Audio