MIT has a new blood test that can potentially predict COVID-19 immunity, while Harvard has a different test that uses saliva to detect both the virus and the antibodies. Most people in the United States at this point have some degree of immunity against the coronavirus. That could be from the vaccine, a recent infection, or a combination of both. But it’s tough to tell how much protection you actually have.
Researchers at MIT use a small blood sample to get that answer. They developed an easy to use, 10 minute test which uses the same type of lateral flow technology as the rapid tests many people have relied on throughout the pandemic. This new test from MIT measures the level of antibodies that target the COVID-19 virus in your blood. Different viral proteins can be swapped in to this test, which allows them to test for different variants of the virus as well.
Experts say this type of easy access to immunity testing can help people figure out what kind of precautions they need to take. It could also be a gamechanger for people receiving chemotherapy, have an autoimmune disease and the elderly, who are at greater risk for the coronavirus.