Description

This is one of the most reliable tests today to know if antibodies have been created against COVID-19 or not. If the results provide IgG antibodies, it is confirmed that the patient has a past infection, that is, they have had the disease at some point.

Does having antibodies mean that you are immune?

According to numerous studies and scientific evidence, having antibodies represents a fairly reliable level of immunity. To date, having antibodies created against COVID-19 does not ensure total immunity against contagion, transmission and, above all, the duration of these antibodies in each person is unknown, since immunity works differently in each person.

There is a lot of work in progress on reinfections and immunity periods after vaccination and after you have had the disease, but there is still nothing conclusive.

On the other hand, another aspect that greatly confuses the general population is whether the creation of antibodies through vaccination against COVID can be differentiated from the creation of antibodies by infection, because they have had the disease. To clarify this, there are already tests or complementary tests to the Elisa / CLIA Test that differentiate antibodies. Currently approved vaccines generate anti-S1 protein antibodies and natural infection generates anti-spicule (S) and anti-nucleocapsid (N) antibodies.

And another big question from patients is: if I have a COVID-19 detection test and I’m vaccinated, will it be positive? The answer from the specialists is NO.

It has been pointed out that if a serological or antibody test is carried out, the antibodies will appear and at a given moment, it will be possible to detect where they come from, whether from the disease or the vaccine. But before a PCR Test or an Antigen Test, which are the best tests to detect the disease in its acute phase and with the highest probability of contagion, they will not be positive because they are vaccinated. These tests detect genetic material and proteins of the virus respectively; which rules out detection through created antibodies.

Therefore, a patient (vaccinated or not) with a POSITIVE result in a PCR diagnostic test or Antigen Test should be considered COVID POSITIVE and appropriate public health measures and medical care should be taken (isolation, contact trace, treatment if needed). And the possibility of a false positive after the vaccine is the same as the possibility of a false positive in the general population.

In summary, the Elisa / CLIA Test is currently the best test to indicate whether we have created antibodies. And the PCR test, today, remains the most reliable for detecting the disease in both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients; leaving the Antigen Test to confirm contagion in case of compatible symptoms within the first days of the disease. And as for immunity, at the moment there is no test that can guarantee long-term immunity since it continues to be a subject under study.