Antibody tests, which reveal whether someone has been infected with the novel coronavirus, have been touted as key to reopening the economy and restoring a sense of stability to quotidian life. The hope is that people who've been infected by and develop antibodies may be able to ward off future
But for now, it's just that: a hope. Medical experts have said it's premature to rely on antibody testing as a singular solution to reopening the economy.
Results so far have been telling, but time's required to gauge the strength and longevity of the average person's antibody response. Medical professionals are hopeful antibodies produced in response to COVID-19 offer similar protection. Preliminary studies on monkeys suggest COVID-19 antibodies provide partial, short-term protective immunity to reinfection, but, as Harvard epidemiologist Marc Lipsitch recently wrote for The New York Times, these early results are just"educated guesses."
"We're kind of racing the clock," Dr. David Koch, director of clinical chemistry, toxicology and point of care testing at Grady Memorial Hospital, told ABC News.U.S. experts are looking to data from other countries that are ahead of the curve, such as Italy and South Korea, for glimmers of insight on COVID-19 antibodies.
The quality of antibody tests for COVID-19 also has come into question. Although they've skyrocketed in number, only four have received an Emergency Use Authorization from the Food and Drug Administration. Others have been approved for manufacturing in case they're proven effective.Experts told ABC News there's concern tests of dubious quality could make it to market without being properly vetted.
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