Positive antibody test doesn’t come with an ‘immunity passport’

There’s a fine line between curiosity and paranoia. 

Some are walking that line as they ponder whether they should find out whether they’ve had COVID-19.

The new blood tests determine if the body has produced antibodies to the virus, proving it’s paid a visit. The desired goal is to then be issued an “immunity passport,” proving they cannot spread the virus.

Trouble is, the tests are not perfect. About 5% of those who have had the virus will not test positive. Also those who have had the virus have no guarantee they won’t contract it again because the virus is related to a whole host of coronaviruses and researchers don’t yet know how effective COVID-19 antibodies will be for staving off future infections. It’s also not known how long such antibodies remain detectable in the body.

Even those who have proof of antibodies are advised to continue social distancing and taking other precautions.

Another glitch in the system is that not all antibody testing is equal, varying from lab to lab.

Most critical, is that they be specific to COVID-19. 

Otherwise, “We could test all of us here and some of us would be positive for coronavirus and it wouldn’t mean anything except that we had a cold in our past,” said Dr. Lee Norman with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, in an interview in early May.

That keeps hospitals and clinics on their toes.

In mid-April, Herington’s hospital fell victim to a sales pitch touting coronavirus testing.

Eager to bypass the initial long waits for lab results conducted at KDHE, the hospital purchased 500 kits, claiming “It tells you if you have immunity.” 

More than 100 residents followed through. For nothing. 

Hospital officials had failed to read the fine print, which admitted a positive result could mean patients have had any of four coronaviruses. 

“You could get a positive if you had nothing other than a common cold,” said Dickinson County Public Health Director John Hultgren.