COVID-19 Antibody Testing is Here

Book your test today

Wondering if you’ve been exposed to COVID-19? Piedmont Healthcare may be able to help you find out. We’re offering COVID-19 antibody testing consult visits through primary care practices, Piedmont QuickCare at Walgreens locations, and Piedmont Urgent Care clinics. These tests are safe and easy, so start by booking your visit now.

 

What to know about antibody tests

An antibody is a protein made by our bodies in response to an infection. Antibodies help to fight infections.  Antibodies are also produced when we get routine vaccinations.  

Testing positive for COVID-19 antibodies does not necessarily indicate immunity. However, antibody data helps us understand who has likely been exposed to the virus. It can also give us information about whether antibodies protect us from getting the virus again.  

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The test is a venous blood draw.

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If you have respiratory symptoms, please wait for them to clear.

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If you previously tested positive for COVID-19 via nasal swab, COVID-19 antibody testing is not necessary.

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Most insurance carriers cover COVID-19 antibody testing. Self-pay is also accepted.

                     How can I be tested for COVID-19 antibodies?

For COVID-19 antibody testing, please schedule a visit at one of the following locations:

  • Piedmont Physicians primary care practices
    Piedmont Urgent Care locations
    Piedmont QuickCare at Walgreens locations*

*Note: Due to the pandemic, temporary closures may impact your choice of QuickCare locations for antibody testing appointments. Also, Piedmont specialty practices do not offer antibody testing consult visits at this time.

 

Development of Potential COVID-19 Vaccine and Serological Assay

ABOUT THIS STUDY

 

Our group has explored the use of genomic RNA/phage display libraries derived from primary human malignant melanoma cells as a means of identifying antibody detectable targets on cancer cells (cancer vaccines or antibody guided therapeutics).  In this approach, we isolate and affinity-column immobilize the IgG fraction from patient serum before and after immune therapy for melanoma, and expose the immobilized antibodies to bacteriophage expressing approximately 2x109 overlapping cDNA sequences of paired (same patient derived plasma and cancer cells) melanoma genomic RNA.  Phage, expressing melanoma cDNA express the proteins/peptides on their capsid are “recognized” by the immobilized antibodies are retained in the column, and subsequently eluted for DNA sequencing.  Comparison of the DNA profiles of the eluted phage using pre-immunotherapy and post-immunotherapy patient sera will reveal emergence of new antibodies (post-immunotherapy gain of antibodies) against proteins of potential interest for melanoma targeting.  In the current proposal, we hypothesize that reacting COVID serum from patients that have recovered from COVID infection and compare to non-infected self-serum (if available) and control healthy volunteer serum (available in our lab) may identify protein targets that have developed as a result of the COVID infection and could be useful in the development of a COVID vaccine as well as a serologic test for anti-COVID immunity. 

 Mais 92 pessoas são diagnosticadas com Coronavírus nas últimas 24h ...

Participation eligibility

 

Participant eligibility includes age, gender, type and stage of disease, and previous treatments or health concerns. Guidelines differ from study to study, and identify who can or cannot participate. There is no guarantee that every individual who qualifies and wants to participate in a trial will be enrolled. Please contact the study team to discuss whether or not you are eligible to participate in a study.

Readmore: COVID-19 Test Kit

Antibody Testing At-A-Glance Recommendations for Professionals

Here is a summary of CDC advice for healthcare providers, laboratory professionals, and public health professionals using antibody tests for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

This virus is new, and what we know about it changes rapidly. CDC’s guidance will be updated as more information becomes available. 

Early antibody testing results reveal more COVID-19 infections ...

  • Choose antibody tests that have Emergency Use Authorization (EUA)external icon from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
  • Do not use COVID-19 Antibody Test to determine a person’s immune status until evidence confirms that antibodies provide protection; how much antibody is protective; and how long protection lasts.
  • Antibody test results should not be used to diagnose someone with an active infection.
    • Antibody tests can support the clinical assessment of COVID-19 illness for people who are being tested 9 to 14 days after illness onset, in addition to recommended virus detection methods such as PCR. This will maximize sensitivity as the sensitivity of nucleic acid detection is decreasing and serologic testing is increasing during this time period.
    • Antibody testing can help establish a clinical picture when patients have late complications of COVID-19 illness, such as multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children.
  • Minimize false positive results by choosing an antibody test with high specificity and by testing populations and people who are likely to have had COVID-19. When testing people who live in an area where not many people have had COVID-19, consider using a second antibody test in addition to the first to better understand whether the initial result may have been a false positive.

Readmore: Test for Past Infection (Antibody Test)

Test for Past Infection (Antibody Test)

Antibody tests check your blood by looking for antibodies, which can show if you had a past infection with the virus that causes COVID-19. Antibodies are proteins that help fight off infections and usually provide protection against getting that disease again (immunity). Antibodies are disease specific. For example, measles antibody will protect a person who is exposed again to measles but will have no effect if the person is exposed to mumps.

Depending on when someone was infected and the timing of the test, the test may not find antibodies in someone with a current COVID-19 infection. Antibody tests should not be used to diagnose COVID-19. To see if you are currently infected, you need a viral test. Viral tests identify the virus in samples from your respiratory system, such as swabs from the inside of your nose.

If you test positive or negative for COVID-19 on a viral or an antibody test, you still should take preventive measures to protect yourself and others.

We do not know yet if people who recover from COVID-19 can get infected again.  Scientists are working to understand this.

 Public Health England Approves Two Antibody Tests
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Self-Checker

A guide to help you make decisions and seek appropriate medical care.

 

How to get an COVID-19 Antibody Test


Antibody tests for COVID-19 are available through healthcare providers and laboratories. Check with your healthcare provider to see if they offer antibody tests and whether you should get one. 

What do your results mean?

If you test positive

  • A positive test result shows you may have antibodies from an infection with the virus that causes COVID-19, or possibly from infection with a related virus from the same family of viruses (called coronavirus), such as one that causes the common cold.
  • We do not know yet if having antibodies to the virus that causes COVID-19 can protect someone from getting infected again or, if they do, how long this protection might last.
  • Talk with your healthcare provider about your test result and the type of test you took to understand what your result means. Your provider may suggest you take a second type of antibody test to see if the first test was accurate.
  • You should continue to protect yourself and others since it’s possible you could get infected with the virus again.
  • If you have no symptoms, you likely do not have an active infection and no additional follow-up is needed.
    • If you work in a job where you wear personal protective equipment (PPE), continue wearing PPE.
  • If you have symptoms and meet other criteria for testing, you would need another type of test called a viral test. This test identifies the virus that causes COVID-19.
    • This test uses respiratory samples, such as a swab from inside your nose, to confirm COVID-19.
    • An antibody (blood) test cannot tell if you are currently sick with COVID-19.
  • You might test positive for antibodies even if you never had symptoms of COVID-19. This can happen if you had an infection without symptoms (also called an asymptomatic infection).

If you test negative

  • You may not have had COVID-19 before. Talk with your healthcare provider about your test result and the type of test you took to understand what your result means.
  • You could still have a current infection.
    • The test may be negative because it typically takes 1 to 3 weeks after infection to develop antibodies. It’s possible you could still get sick if you have been exposed to the virus recently. This means you could still spread the virus.
    • Some people may take even longer to develop antibodies, and some people may not develop antibodies.
  • If you have symptoms or develop symptoms after the antibody test and you meet other criteria for testing, you would need another type of test called a viral test. This test uses respiratory samples, such as a swab from inside your nose, to confirm COVID-19. An antibody (blood) test cannot tell if you are currently sick with COVID-19.

Regardless of whether you test positive or negative, the results do not confirm whether or not you are able to spread the virus that causes COVID-19. Until we know more, continue to take steps to protect yourself and others.Learn more about using antibody tests to look for past infection.

 
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CDC’s work in antibody testing

CDC is evaluating commercial antibody tests

CDC is collaborating with other government agencies to evaluate the performance of commercially manufactured antibody tests. Some of these tests have received Emergency Use Authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

CDC is conducting serologic surveillance

CDC is looking at data from antibody tests to estimate the total number of people who have been infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 in the United States. CDC is also using antibody testing to learn more about how the body’s immune system responds to the virus and to explore how the virus spreads among people exposed to it. The information CDC is looking at comes from many groups, including blood donors and household contacts of people who had symptoms and were diagnosed with COVID-19.

Readmore: Using Antibody Tests for COVID-19