A new COVID-19 antibody blood test developed by Northwestern University scientists requires only a single drop of blood self-collected at home.
A new COVID-19 antibody blood test developed by Northwestern University scientists requires only a single drop of blood self-collected at home. It could generate estimates of herd immunity, measure vaccine effectiveness in the general population and model the course of future waves of infection.
For the test, a person would use a fingerstick to collect their blood sample on filter paper and mail it to a lab for analysis. This method would allow for large-scale testing of neutralizing antibodies against COVID-19. It also can be implemented in a short amount of time with widely available laboratories. Prior methods have used a blood draw from a vein, which requires patients to come to a hospital or clinic.
“Neutralizing antibodies are important because they measure the level of immune protection against infection,” said senior study author Thomas McDade, professor of anthropology at Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern and professor of medical social sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “In the context of the pandemic, this is important for evaluating the efficacy of vaccination and the durability of immunological memory and protection following natural infection.”
Read more at Northwestern University
