I Just Got My Covid-19 Antibody Test Today. Jealous Bitches?

They have an error rate of 75% so if you test negative, you're positive.

Really? I thought the Roche test was like 96% accurate? What if I test positive? Then I have at least some immunity.

Maybe I'll have a high % of antibodies so I can donate my super-powered blood plasma to sick children.

I'd say it's better that a shot in the dark!

I had mine done last Friday at Quest labs. Negative for antibodies, dammit.

R3 thank you for posting. I hope 1000 people post their results. If you got one test, get 1 more to be more sure you have no antibodies. Sorry at least you know where you stand. I'd also like people to say their state ir some general location. I'm researching foe Datalounge. Thanks.

Negative too, so no antibodies yet for partner and me.(CA)

0/10

I'm supposed to get one next week. My doctor is having me do a IgG/IgM through Diagnostic Solutions, it says it's accurate but who knows.

In a disease with limited prevalence like COVID-19, false positives are going to be inflated. Even if the absolute false positive rate is only 5%, if the COVID prevalence is only 2-4% in your area then there is a ~70% chance that someone testing antibody positive is actually negative and did not develop antibodies (which are still unknown as a true marker of protection from future infection). In a region where the prevalence is higher, like NYC the likelihood of a false positive goes down when using the same test. It’s a statistical consideration called base rate fallacy.

I apparently got the Abbott test but I preferred the Roche test. I could've sworn I got it months ago. Bummer. Oh well.

Where are you?

How were you able to get it?

I am in Salt Lake. I asked my doctor for an antibody test just this week and he said I couldn't get it because I don't meet the criteria of urgent care. I had COVID symptoms in April.

Do you think your doctor understood you clearly that you wanted the antibody test and not the regular test?

I don’t see why PRESENT symptoms are a requirement for something that is testing whether or not you HAD it in the PAST.

I am not following the logic and I wouldn’t end an appointment or correspondence with the doc without being clear.

Hopefully you'll die anyway.

When you're in the hospital, you should look up the difference between jealous and envious, moron.

I'm in Central California. I just asked my doctor, they mailed us lab slips, and I set up an appt. at LabCorp.

They took a vial of blood from my arm. It was easy as and painless. I got the result 2 days later. Do pressure your doctor for a lab slip. Go in to Wuest or LabCorp. They had lots of available times to choose from.

Everyone is high-risk. Antibody tests are easy and quick. I would hope at some point we all test high for these antibodies.

This isn't the up-your-nose test for finding the Corona virus. I wanted the antibody test because I was sure I had already had the virus. I was wrong just have to go on being careful. I really don't want us to come down with this but whatever. Good luck you guys & ladies. Stay safe.

Yes, r11, I was very explicit with my doctor.

I qualified for the free drive-by testing in Salt Lake. But they told me it only detects ACTIVE disease and I stayed at home when I had symptoms, per the County Health guidelines at the time.

My doctor said the situation is always changing, so I should call back every 2 weeks to try for an antibody test. I'm going to call every month until I get one.

Maybe this Roche test will speed things up.

R15, wow it sounds like they thought you meant the other test. I would try to talk to a doctor directly. Sometimes people misunderstand these tests. Good luck.

My biggest concern is not that I didn't have it, but that I didn't produce antibodies. I am 44 days in and still get chills and nausea that comes off and on, never lasting more than a day at a time. I hope I am not testing too soon, I should have at least IgM, but this illness is very strange and I start to doubt myself even when I had all the symptoms. When I got sick in early April, I wasn't deemed severe enough for testing. I live in Chicago, where there are lots of cases.

R7, I'd say certainly push to get one or both tests and report back. Good luck and chicken soup with rest.

R16 = troll

For $10, LabCorp will have their company doctor create a lab order for an antibody test for you. So no need to go to your regular doctor.

R19, R16 is very much NOT a troll!

Great tip, r20. Thanks!

Thanks for the tip r20. Checked into it and this is what it says on the Labcorp website:

"LabCorp.com is a convenient option that uses an independent physician service, PWNHealth, to determine if an individual is eligible for the test following the completion of a short health questionnaire. Individuals who meet PWNHealth’s criteria can go to one of LabCorp’s thousands of patient service centers. "

So my question is, what do they consider eligible based on the questionnaire? What would disqualify a person from being eligible? I would assume someone showing current symptoms or who has recently recovered would be told to wait, but is there anything else disqualifying?

And does Labcorp run their own test or is it Roche, Abbot etc. or do you have a choice? Thanks to anyone who knows this info.

I thought having antibodies doesn't mean you have immunity-has that changed-all the news changes so fast!!!!

It’s been interesting because so many people I know swore they had the virus - yet not one was positive for antibodies. There was a bad cold that was prevalent in February that wasn’t Covid.

My test with Diagnostic Solutions charged me $130 plus $60 for the blood draw. I had it done on Tuesday and am awaiting the results. It should be free like the rapid tests because if they had their shit together when I had all the symptoms and they had the capacity to test me back then, I wouldn't need an antibody test now. My insurance is making me pay, the cunts.

I was going to pay for it - but realized it would provide no comfort given the unreliability. And while I was sure I had it, most people I know who think they did end up not having had it. I’ll save my $190 for a post CV vacation

I did mine at Labcorp today too! It was easy and I think anyone qualifies for it.

How much did you pay r28?

Do you talk to someone in person or call?

Not many studies yet, r24.

But the studies we have from Korea do suggest the overwhelming likelihood that recovered corona patients DO have immunity from getting reinfected, for at least a few months if not life.

Reddit link since DL won't accommodate CNN links:

I wound up going to CityMD this morning as I somehow picked up a case of conjunctivitis...SMH

I asked if I could get the test for antibodies done, and they accommodated me. Per the CARES act, they aren’t charging a co-payment.

I got my antibodies test result back and I’m negative. Honestly surprised as I was really sick in early March.

I’m in NYC

Got a nasal swab test (for Corona) and an antibody test about 5 weeks ago-- both negative. Don't know which antibody test it was.

Here is a better explanation of the base fallacy rate.

False positives are a big likelihood until coronavirus is more prevalent. So a positive test result should be double-checked.

Jealous? I had it done two weeks ago at the recommendation of my immunologist. She's convinced it confers some immunity - though she said she had no idea for how long or to what extent.

Likewise the Roche test at a Quest lab. It was negative. The tech told me then that so far only 10% had been positive.

Will you throw a revealing party?

Thank you for the LabCorp suggestion. My own, damn doctor wouldn't order an antibody test for me, so this helps.

I have the bloodwork scheduled for Monday. It was only $10 because I have insurance. But people without insurance pay only $10, as well, because they bill government programs.

Also, LabCorp says they're offering the Roche test now. Yay!

I assume the runny nose that went on nearly all February and March was simply seasonal allergy but I'd be interested in knowing for certain. However it's not imperative enough that I can't just wait for my next regular checkup.

I tested positive on March 30, and suffered for almost two months with a low grade fever and breathing difficulties. Going for antibody test in two weeks despite its unreliability.

You realize the antibody does not mean you are immune. People who have had covid have been re-infected.

Both negative for me

"You realize the antibody does not mean you are immune. People who have had covid have been re-infected."

No one has been reinfected with Covid. Those South Korean positives were faulty.

My antibody test from Diagnostic Solutions was negative, but I had all the symptoms of COVID in early April, and my GI symptoms lasted 7 weeks. I think the tests aren't reliable at this point, my doctor has me going for more thorough blood work to figure out what is going on with me. It's frustrating because I wasn't hospitalized so wasn't allowed the swab test when I was sickest.

Some of the tests are indeed not reliable, R43, but it's also true that there are a bunch of other illnesses that manifest symptoms similar to COVID-19's. I know so many people who believed they must have had the virus in February and March -- "it was the sickest I've ever been" -- but they have no antibodies. There was a particularly nasty strain of influenza A going around early this year.

On the other hand, battling symptoms for seven weeks is not typical of other viruses.

Are you feeling better now?

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — UPMC says the coronavirus might not be as potent as it was at the beginning of the pandemic.

UPMC‘s latest figures on coronavirus in our area:

A positive rate of less than 4 percent on 30,000 UPMC tests.

A positive rate of a fraction of a percent on the 8,000 people screened for the resuming of scheduled care.

“The total amount of the virus that the patient has is much less than in earlier stages of the pandemic,” says Dr. Donald Yealy, UPMC senior medical director and chair of Emergency Medicine. “We’ve seen a continual decline in positive test results in the past few weeks.”

Coronavirus is not as prevalent today compared to weeks ago. That’s for our community and others.

“Recent reports from northern Italy indicate that the SARS-CoV2 virus, that is what causes COVID-19 illness and infection, may be changing, with some patterns suggesting that the potency has diminished,” Dr. Yealy said.

No one knows why this might be.

“Viral pandemics are complicated. They wax and wane and some of these features we control. Some we don’t control,” says Dr. Yealy. “I don’t attribute the change solely or predominately to mutation. We simply don’t know.”

The decline, Dr. Yealy refers to, stems from comments by the head of a hospital in Milan who claimed the virus is disappearing.

The World Health Organization disagrees. Now that testing is more available, the tests are detecting milder cases, and people with no symptoms.

So I got my LabCorp blood test today.

The technician did not know and couldn't tell if they would be using the Roche test on me. I will try to find out which brand of test they gave me when I get my results.

I paid $150 for the Abbot Ab test , which is 100% sensitive and 99 % specific. Right now, it is the only reliable test.

The Roche Ab test at LabCorp has much lower sensitivity and specificity and is rather useless.

I was disappointed to find that I was negative. I want to visit my Dad who was recently diagnosed with cancer and may not make it through this.

But the Roche test is supposed to be 100% specific and 99% sensitive.

So, I got my test results from LabCorp and they were negative. I was hoping to be positive.

Turns out they used the Abbott SARS-CoV-2 IgG test, which one study says has 99.9% specificity and 100% sensitivity.

But this test says the Abbott test is only 93% sensitive, which would mean positive results are usually FALSE positives.

Either way, negative results are pretty much reliable, so I don't think I've had COVID-19 and I get to keep worrying about dropping dead.

r47 has it backwards, I believe.

[quote] R47: I was disappointed to find that I was negative. I want to visit my Dad who was recently diagnosed with cancer and may not make it through this.

I don’t understand. If you’re negative, you can visit your Dad without putting him at risk. Or did you mean that you wanted to be positive so you could kill him? The only matter would be that you would be at risk of catching it from him. Is that your concern? I’m puzzled.

I developed a dry cough in March and it’s been quite a puzzle. I’ve had three COVID tests and am negative. I also had a negative test for allergies. I now think that because of a flair-up of arthritis in my spine, I can’t sleep on my side, and have been sleeping on my back. When I sleep on my back, I get acid reflux, and that can cause a cough. I miss being young and bulletproof.