I got a coronavirus antibody test. Here's what I learned

Many clinics across Washington now offer antibody tests to retroactively detect whether you've had the coronavirus. But access to the tests and how patients might interpret the results has left some health experts worried.

KUOW reporter Esmy Jimenez got tested herself to learn about how it all works.

The following interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

Let’s talk about the accuracy of these antibody tests. There are lots of different test makers. How can people figure out where to get a reliable test?

It’s tricky because there have been hundreds of companies offering an antibody test, also called a serology test. Some have been pulled off the market because they were unreliable. But here in Washington, there are a few that have been authorized for emergency use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. That includes:

• LabCorp
• Quest Diagnostics
• University of Washington Virology Lab (available only if your provider orders the test for you)

Is there any guideline for who should get this kind of test?

The Washington Department of Health is not giving any specific guidelines right now. But Quest says it’s not suitable for people who have active, current covid symptoms.

If you're healthy, then you can go get tested. It’s also useful if you’ve been asymptomatic but believe you may have been exposed and want to check if you now have those antibodies.

For people who want this test: How much does it cost, and does insurance cover it?

The test at Quest Diagnostics is about $120. You can pay $10 at LabCorp for the test — but that’s if you meet certain requirements.

The UW Virology Lab has also been testing people. But those who want to get tested would have to go through their provider and that’s where it gets tricky.

I talked to a representative for Kaiser Permanente and as of mid-May, they are not offering the test to patients because again, some tests have not been approved by the FDA.

How many people have been tested so far in Washington?

Public Health — Seattle & King County and the Washington State Department of Health both say they are still gathering that information.

UW Virology says so far, they’ve processed about 26,500 tests. Roughly 4% of those tests have come back positive.

Private labs like Quest have numbers but only at the national level; they are sharing the local data with public health agencies.

Anecdotally, I’ve heard from listeners it has been a challenge to get antibody testing through their providers. And it’s also a little confusing as to what you do after you get your results.

If you had a positive result what does that mean? Do you have immunity and how does this change how you live and work day to day?

Initially we had heard from local researchers that if this coronavirus is similar to other viruses, it will provide some kind of immunity. But they’re not sure how long that immunity would last or how much it would help if you got exposed a second time.

The World Health organization currently says: "There is no evidence that people who have recovered from Covid-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection."

Likewise, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently released interim guidelines too and they say: “Serologic test results should not be used to make decisions about returning persons to the workplace.”

So the answer is we just don’t know yet. And as for what you do with the results, that’s harder to say.

You should definitely continue social distancing, washing your hands, and limiting your time outdoors.

But as you heard me admit, there was and is a part of us that wants to know if that result kind of means something more — if we can visit our loved ones, or kind of return to our old lives. But the truth is no, not yet.

Listen to the interview by clicking the play button above.