Coronavirus in Massachusetts (disposal, addition, effective)

[sawyer2]

For those that think you had COVID why not get tested for antibodies?

The newer assays from reputable companies and test centers are highly sensitive and specific, with extremely low false negative rates. Roche's test at LabCorp is probably one example and I'm sure Quest has similar on offer. Just don't buy on ebay/amazon etc

Seems like everyone who had a sniffle in January 'had it'.

[BostonMike7]

Originally Posted by sawyer2

For those that think you had COVID why not get tested for antibodies?

I would, and probably will one day. A coworker recently got the antibody test. Suspected he had it in Feb, and it was negative.


I had "something" back in Feb too, but am 99% sure it was not Covid. But I would get the test if it was easy to find a place that administered it that fit my schedule, and cheap.

It's not something that is a high priority for me though. More of a curiosity so i'm not going to go out of my way to get it done

[id77]

Originally Posted by sawyer2

For those that think you had COVID why not get tested for antibodies?

The newer assays from reputable companies and test centers are highly sensitive, with extremely low false negative rates. Roche's test at LabCorp is probably one example and I'm sure Quest has similar on offer. Just don't buy on ebay/amazon etc

Seems like everyone who had a sniffle in January 'had it'.

I think for me at least, the reason is that there's no value in getting tested at this point.

Data suggests I can catch it again (so knowing if I have antibodies doesn't mean anything for me), the people would I would have exposed would have long already had it by now (so alerting the few we could is moot), and I'm recovered from whatever I had so I'm not requiring any treatment that having been positive would enable access to.

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by id77

I think for me at least, the reason is that there's no value in getting tested at this point.

Data suggests I can catch it again (so knowing if I have antibodies doesn't mean anything for me), the people would I would have exposed would have long already had it by now (so alerting the few we could is moot), and I'm recovered from whatever I had so I'm not requiring any treatment that having been positive would enable access to.

My thinking. I see and have heard no benefit in it. Save the tests for those that need it or can directly benefit from it.


It's like that for most things. Like, grocery delivery. I'm not high risk, so why would I have groceries delivered when there are people that really need that service. It would be selfish of me.

[NewfieMama]

I had the antibody test about a month ago--I never had any symptoms, but was just curious if I had been exposed and just didn't know it. My daughter had an atypical flu back in February, so that was the main reason I was tested.

I was negative and when I asked the nurse how many were coming back negative, she said only about 5% of the antibody tests were coming back as positive. That was a month ago, so old data, but I was surprised it was that low.

[sawyer2]

Originally Posted by id77

I think for me at least, the reason is that there's no value in getting tested at this point.

Data suggests I can catch it again (so knowing if I have antibodies doesn't mean anything for me), the people would I would have exposed would have long already had it by now (so alerting the few we could is moot), and I'm recovered from whatever I had so I'm not requiring any treatment that having been positive would enable access to.

Fair point.

The jury is still out on whether or not previous immune response confers immunity, and if yes for how long. All of the data from reputable sources that I have seen suggest a classic immune response with some durability. Secondary infections are possible, as you state, but preexisting antibodies dampen the response. Like in flu season where there is a poor match between vaccine and virus.

[brightdoglover]

Originally Posted by sawyer2

For those that think you had COVID why not get tested for antibodies?

The newer assays from reputable companies and test centers are highly sensitive and specific, with extremely low false negative rates. Roche's test at LabCorp is probably one example and I'm sure Quest has similar on offer. Just don't buy on ebay/amazon etc

Seems like everyone who had a sniffle in January 'had it'.

I did. I had a severe never-had-anything-like-it illness in February (here in SW Colorado, after 45 years in Boston area, that's why I still read this). There were a dozen+ cases in the nearby ski resort town and I have never been so sick- even went to the ER after three days in bed/on the floor/very sick, to see if I had pneumonia (did not). Doc said "there's a lot of this going around."

So recently I went for an antibody test, and paid for it. It was negative. Had it been positive, I would have paid for a second one, to confirm. I wasn't going to change my precautions or behavior no matter what, so didn't much pay attention to the results.

[BostonMike7]

How much did the test cost?

[NewfieMama]

Originally Posted by BostonMike7

How much did the test cost?

I've had a couple of friends do the Quest online test, which is $120.

I went to a local urgent care clinic (Health Express) which also uses Quest labs and the test was covered 100% by insurance, so I didn't have to pay anything. It literally took about 5 minutes to do. Very easy, no wait at all, and had results within 2 days.

[brightdoglover]

Originally Posted by BostonMike7

How much did the test cost?

It would have been $119 at Quest in town, but was $200 at the tiny local medical service. I think they billed Medicare and haven't heard yet if it'll be covered, but I doubt it will be. I think you can get it at any Quest location for $119.