If you are getting depressed and fatigued from all the bad news out there, this new item should cheer you up. The FDA has approved an “antibody” blood test for the coronavirus.
The purpose of the antibody test is to determine if a person has been exposed to coronavirus in the past. It is not designed to test if a person has coronavirus, but a test to determine if a person had coronavirus. This provides scientists with more data and more options to develop treatments for patients battling coronavirus.
What are antibodies?
According to The Conversation: Antibodies recognize and bind proteins on the surface of virus particles. For each infection, the immune system designs antibodies that are highly specific for the particular invading pathogen.
Why is that important?
- Testing people to determine how many have had the virus, will provide more accurate numbers of the people that have had the virus and recover. Those numbers will impact the rate of death to the rate of infection numbers. This information will help the government and the medical community to scale their response to the virus.
- Antibody testing will provide more data for scientists to study whether a person that has had the virus is immune to or is still a carrier of the virus. It is not yet known how long after a person recovers the virus might still be present, but those studies are being done both here and in other countries.
- By identifying people that have had the virus and recovered, scientists can develop blood plasma treatments using blood donated by individuals with the coronavirus antibodies present to fight the virus. Those treatments can then be used to help infected people battle the coronavirus.
Blood plasma treatments
Blood plasma can be an important tool in fighting the coronavirus. It can be used to treat those who are already sick and it can be used to prevent the virus in those who are repeatedly exposed to the virus e.g. healthcare workers, doctors, nurses, and first-responders. And this
Blood plasma or “convalescent plasma” treatments have been used for over a hundred years in this country. According to Wayne A. Marasco of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston:
Convalescent plasma has a real role — this has been going on for over 100 years. We know this stuff works. If you do this right and harvest plasma from someone who has undergone infection, you can get protective antibodies that can be infused in other people.”
FDA emergency use authorization
The FDA has approved the Cellex Inc. antibody test under the emergency use authorization.
From FDA.gov on April 2:
To date, 25 emergency use authorizations have been issued for diagnostic tests. Notably, the FDA issued an emergency use authorization, on April 1, 2020, to Cellex Inc.’s qSARS-CoV-2 IgG/IgM Rapid Test which is the first serology test to date to receive authorization to test for the presence of coronavirus antibodies. Cellex’s labeling notes that test results from this serology test should not be used as the sole basis for diagnosis and can only aid in the diagnosis of patients in conjunction with a medical review of symptoms and results of other laboratory tests. Cellex’s test is also limited to laboratories certified under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA) to perform moderate and high complexity tests.
FDA chief Dr. Stephen Hahn explains the new test:
JUST IN: @US_FDA announces approval of #COVID19 antibody test in @CBSNewsRadio interview. pic.twitter.com/zvWINTn3lK
— Steven Portnoy (@stevenportnoy) April 2, 2020
A question from our own @TocRadio:
“What percentage of the population do we suspect to be asymptomatic at this point? Is there a way to figure that out? It seems like the antibody test might be able to assist in determining that number.” pic.twitter.com/3TAAZ5fpPv
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) April 3, 2020
Dr. Deborah Birx of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, explains the use of the antibody test as part of the plan to get ahead of the coronavirus:
1,031 Responses
I appreciate, cause I found just what I was looking for. You have ended my four day long hunt! God Bless you man. Have a nice day. Bye
There are some attention-grabbing time limits in this article but I dont know if I see all of them center to heart. There is some validity but I will take hold opinion until I look into it further. Good article , thanks and we wish extra! Added to FeedBurner as properly
wow, awesome blog article.Really thank you! Much obliged.
Very neat article.Thanks Again. Great.
Say, you got a nice post. Cool.
Thank you ever so for you post.Really looking forward to read more. Awesome.
Wonderful blog! I found it while browsing on Yahoo News. Do you have any tips on how to get listed in Yahoo News? I’ve been trying for a while but I never seem to get there! Appreciate it
I believe that avoiding packaged foods would be the first step to be able to lose weight. They will often taste great, but highly processed foods currently have very little nutritional value, making you consume more simply to have enough electricity to get over the day. For anyone who is constantly having these foods, transferring to whole grain products and other complex carbohydrates will aid you to have more vitality while eating less. Good blog post.
Thanks-a-mundo for the article.Thanks Again. Much obliged.
Wow, marvelous blog layout! How long have you been blogging for? you make blogging look easy. The overall look of your web site is wonderful, as well as the content!|
Looking forward to reading more. Great blog post. Want more.
Have you ever thought about adding a little bit more than just your articles? I mean, what you say is important and all. Nevertheless think of if you added some great images or videos to give your posts more, “pop”! Your content is excellent but with images and clips, this website could definitely be one of the best in its field. Terrific blog!
Hello, you used to write magnificent, but the last few posts have been kinda boring¡K I miss your tremendous writings. Past few posts are just a little out of track! come on!
Hi! I just wanted to ask if you ever have any problems with hackers? My last blog (wordpress) was hacked and I ended up losing several weeks of hard work due to no backup. Do you have any solutions to stop hackers?
Hey there just wanted to give you a quick heads up. The text in your
post seem to be running off the screen in Firefox. I’m not sure if this is a formatting issue or something to do with internet browser compatibility but I thought I’d post to
let you know. The design and style look great though!
Hope you get the issue resolved soon. Cheers
I think other website proprietors should take this site as an model, very clean and fantastic user friendly style and design, as well as the content. You are an expert in this topic!
A round of applause for your article.Really thank you! Awesome.
Very neat blog post.Really thank you!
I’ll right away snatch your rss feed as I can’t to find your email subscription link or e-newsletter service.
Do you have any? Kindly permit me know in order that I may just subscribe.
Thanks.
This is interesting site. Please, share it more!
I have observed that service fees for on-line degree professionals tend to be a terrific value. For example a full 4-year college Degree in Communication in the University of Phoenix Online consists of 60 credits with $515/credit or $30,900. Also American Intercontinental University Online provides a Bachelors of Business Administration with a entire course requirement of 180 units and a worth of $30,560. Online degree learning has made taking your college degree so much easier because you can earn the degree through the comfort of your abode and when you finish from office. Thanks for all the tips I have certainly learned from your website.
I’ve been exploring for a bit for any high quality articles or blog posts on this kind of area . Exploring in Yahoo I at last stumbled upon this web site. Reading this info So i am happy to convey that I’ve an incredibly good uncanny feeling I discovered exactly what I needed. I most certainly will make certain to don’t forget this web site and give it a glance on a constant basis.
Keep functioning ,terrific job!
Wow, great article. Much obliged.
Hi! I know this is somewhat off topic but I was wondering which blog platform are you using for this website? I’m getting sick and tired of WordPress because I’ve had problems with hackers and I’m looking at options for another platform. I would be fantastic if you could point me in the direction of a good platform.|
A round of applause for your blog post.Really looking forward to read more. Great.
Considerably, the post is in reality the finest on that laudable topic. I fit in with your conclusions and can eagerly look forward to your incoming updates. Saying thanks definitely will not simply just be enough, for the outstanding clarity in your writing. I will certainly at once grab your rss feed to stay privy of any kind of updates. Pleasant work and also much success in your business efforts!
Terrific paintings! That is the kind of information that are supposed to be shared across the internet. Disgrace on Google for no longer positioning this submit higher! Come on over and visit my site . Thanks =)
Really appreciate you sharing this article post. Really Cool.
Ive read a few good stuff here. Definitely price bookmarking for revisiting. I wonder how much attempt you set to make one of these great informative site.
Heard about this website from my buddy. He pointed me here and informed me I’d discover what I need. He was right! I got all of the questions I had, answered. Did not even take lengthy to seek out it. Love the truth that you produced it so simple for individuals like me.
Very neat article.Much thanks again. Keep writing.
Aw, this has been an extremely nice post. In thought I must place in writing similar to this moreover – taking time and actual effort to create a great article… but what / things I say… I procrastinate alot and also by no indicates appear to get something accomplished.
Hi there, its fastidious article concerning media print, we all be aware of media is a wonderful source of facts.|
I¡¦ve recently started a site, the information you offer on this web site has helped me tremendously. Thanks for all of your time & work.
Hi there, just became alert to your blog through Google, and found that it is really informative. Im gonna watch out for brussels. Ill appreciate if you continue this in future. Numerous people will be benefited from your writing. Cheers!
Im obliged for the blog article.Thanks Again. Much obliged.
Really informative blog post.Much thanks again. Keep writing.
I love your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you make this website yourself or did you hire someone to do it for you? Plz respond as I’m looking to create my own blog and would like to find out where u got this from. cheers
Im grateful for the article post. Keep writing.