The Hive Antibody results thread

[sassenach]

I've seen a few people mention that they have or will shortly get antibody testing and I thought it might be interesting to group those results together.

Post as much info as you're comfortable with: symptoms, dates, the test used (if you know which one), and results.

I should have my results sometime next week.

[Joker]

I’m supposed to call and schedule mine on Tuesday per my doctor’s request. It will be an Abbott test so they are supposed to be reliable. I had a sore throat and bad headaches the first week of March. Then half my face was numb for a couple of days and then my cough started. Along with the cough was an uncomfortable “tickle” in my chest. I don’t really know how to describe it but today is the first day that tickle and cough is gone -11 weeks later.  Dh also had a cough and his was worse but is gone now. Ds, 20, ended up with a weird two week rash as well after coming home to see us the beginning of March. Youngest has had nothing.
 

I don’t think I had it, dh is for sure I did, and my doctor wants to know before he sees me next month.

ETA: Dh also thinks we may have given it to our pets. They were both sick with something and the cat sneezed for a good week. They’re fine now. I do think it’s all weird since we’re never sick but I’ll be super surprised if I test positive.

Edited May 23, 2020 by Joker

[sassenach]

14 minutes ago, Seasider too said:

Thanks for this thread. I’d also like to see efficacy reports on various test brands. We will definitely want a test for at least one of our family members, but don’t want to waste time, money, or blooddrops on something that has 30% false result range, kwim?

I found a great page about that last week. I'll go search and see if I can find it again. 

Found it! https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/emergency-situations-medical-devices/eua-authorized-serology-test-performance

Edited May 23, 2020 by sassenach

[maize]

I did a test last week, it was part of an antibody study in our state. They did a venous blood draw, not a finger prick, through Labcorp, and ran both IGG and IGA tests. Both came back negative. 

I was sick around the beginning of March, after dd16 came back from an out of state karate tournament with a cough and fever.

I really was hoping we'd already had this and might have some immunity, but knew the chances weren't high. The positive rate for active covid-19 tests in my county is only 2.5% so obviously the vast majority of people with symptoms have other infections.

Edited May 23, 2020 by maize

[sassenach]

1 hour ago, maize said:

I did a test last week, it was part of an antibody study in our state. They did a venous blood draw, not a finger prick, through Labcorp, and ran both IGG and IGA tests. Both came back negative. 

I was sick around the beginning of March, after dd16 came back from an out of state karate tournament with a cough and fever.

I really was hoping we'd already had this and might have some immunity, but knew the chances weren't high. The positive rate for active covid-19 tests in my county is only 2.5% so obviously the vast majority of people with symptoms have other infections.

Bummer! I think you and I discussed having very similar symptoms. I'm not going to say that my hopes aren't up, but I am actively reminding myself that this is a long shot. 

[sassenach]

Results came in fast- Negative. BOOOOO! but not shocked.

As a reminder, these were my symptoms back in late Feb. I was more hopeful based on how sick dd was more than myself.

I got the Abbott Architect test. 

 

[sassenach]

1 hour ago, Seasider too said:

Did your daughter have a test too?

 

No, we decided to just do me and assume that our results are the same. 

[sassenach]

9 hours ago, Patty Joanna said:

I haven't done this.  I do have a question:  what are they saying are the accuracy rates on the antibody tests?

 

It depends on which one you get. I linked a reference page above which lays out the reliability of the currently approved tests. I intentionally waited till I could get either the Abbott Architect or Roche test. Abbott was easier to find. 

[Acadie]

I'm amazed anyone can get antibody testing! We're in a large metro area with two major research hospital systems and have been on waiting lists for a month.

[RootAnn]

2 hours ago, Acadie said:

I'm amazed anyone can get antibody testing! We're in a large metro area with two major research hospital systems and have been on waiting lists for a month.

LabCorp opened up their test for $10 plus whatever your insurance won't cover, but I can't find any info on how sensitive/specific their test is. So, likely, it sucks.  (Maybe I'm just jaded?)

I'd definitely make sure I was getting one of the good ones if I was getting tested. 

[EmseB]

2 hours ago, Acadie said:

I'm amazed anyone can get antibody testing! We're in a large metro area with two major research hospital systems and have been on waiting lists for a month.

Could you order the one linked from health labs or have your doc order it for you? Are you waiting to test somewhere specifically for a research study?

[teachermom2834]

My 22 yo ds has a job at a country club and he is getting antibody tested this week through there. He hasn't been sick and has pretty much stayed home the whole time so I would be really surprised if he had them but I guess there are large numbers of people with them who never had symptoms.

My 20 yo ds really should be tested. He was really sick in mid March and was negative for everything else they tested him for at his college's health services but they weren't yet testing for Covid. He was working at a job where he was exposed to lots of people traveling from all over, particularly from NY. I would pay to get him tested if it was available. 

[sassenach]

1 hour ago, teachermom2834 said:

My 22 yo ds has a job at a country club and he is getting antibody tested this week through there. He hasn't been sick and has pretty much stayed home the whole time so I would be really surprised if he had them but I guess there are large numbers of people with them who never had symptoms.

My 20 yo ds really should be tested. He was really sick in mid March and was negative for everything else they tested him for at his college's health services but they weren't yet testing for Covid. He was working at a job where he was exposed to lots of people traveling from all over, particularly from NY. I would pay to get him tested if it was available. 

That does bring up an interesting question that I have. I've seen tons of evidence for asymptomatic positive PCR tests (the ones that dx active infection) but I don't know that I've seen any for people who had no symptoms at all being positive for antibodies (and if I'm wrong, I'd love some links). That makes me wonder if the asymptomatic people even develop antibodies and maybe that's where we are seeing people who get infected twice? 

Just musing...

[Farrar]

9 minutes ago, sassenach said:

That does bring up an interesting question that I have. I've seen tons of evidence for asymptomatic positive PCR tests (the ones that dx active infection) but I don't know that I've seen any for people who had no symptoms at all being positive for antibodies (and if I'm wrong, I'd love some links). That makes me wonder if the asymptomatic people even develop antibodies and maybe that's where we are seeing people who get infected twice? 

Just musing...

I have seen this mentioned when they've talked about the studies. So I'm pretty sure they do.

For folks thinking of doing it, it does make sense to test everyone in the family. I've read several times now about couples who thought they both may have had it and clearly had the same symptoms who got the antibody tests but only one came back positive. Presumably the other is a false negative. But getting more tests would presumably make it more likely to turn up a positive one. Of course, there may be false positives too.

[Acadie]

3 hours ago, RootAnn said:

LabCorp opened up their test for $10 plus whatever your insurance won't cover, but I can't find any info on how sensitive/specific their test is. So, likely, it sucks.  (Maybe I'm just jaded?)

I'd definitely make sure I was getting one of the good ones if I was getting tested. 

 

I'm as jaded as you are, and feel like it would be a waste of time and money to take a test that's not reliable, especially looking at the long game where we may need to be tested again in the future. But if I could find info on sensitivity and specificity I might try it. 

2 hours ago, EmseB said:

Could you order the one linked from health labs or have your doc order it for you? Are you waiting to test somewhere specifically for a research study?

 

Both my girls are on the list with their pediatrician whose office has test kits, but they're waiting for guidance from the FDA. The office told us (and I can't vouch for the accuracy of this), the FDA pulled approval on all antibody tests when it became clear so many were unreliable and made all the manufacturers reapply, even the ones that were fairly good. So according to them to the hold up is with the FDA. It wouldn't surprise me if we get a call this week to come in, or if it's another month.

My older daughter is also on a list for a study of teens with Covid toes, which would include testing for the virus and for antibodies. The infectious disease specialist said the most reliable antibody test is one from the UK--Roche, maybe?--and they are trying to get access to that one system-wide. Her doctor said they may bank blood samples for the study, so they can run them as a group when tests are available. And just as an interesting aside, she also said Italy and Spain have studied groups of teens with Covid toes, but their antibody tests were so unreliable no conclusions can be drawn from it (I think many teens in those studies were negative for antibodies). The UK has good antibody testing but they haven't tested a group of teens with Covid toes.

As Farrar suggests, I'd really like to get the whole family tested, partly so we're less likely to miss it with a false negative, and also because it would have some impact how we proceed with our lives, though we'd still practice social distancing. 

[Joker]

I had my antibody test today. I have horrible veins but this place was good and got me on the first try. I have no idea how long it will take but I will let everyone know. 

[ktgrok]

On 5/23/2020 at 3:18 PM, happysmileylady said:

 

DH still has his cough, and has at this point tried antibiotics, allergy meds, and a couple of OTC things like nasal sprays and such.  They haven't helped.  SO.....I dunno.  

Has he tried reflux medication? 

[GoodGrief]

My husband has had an antibody test along with a couple of Covid tests. No Obvious symptoms but his work wanted these. Testing is plentiful in our state. All of his have been negative. Our state has a very low number of cases in general. 

[Joker]

I was negative. It’s what I expected but dh was surprised. 

[Guest]

I’m bumping this, because I find this interesting and hope people will keep posting in it. 

[cintinative]

So dh had a blood draw today and got up sold for Labcorp’s antibody test. Has anyone seen data on its accuracy? Their website says it is not FDA approved. The trouble is, he will totally not be careful if it comes back positive. Sigh.my only hope is that it likely will not, unless the test is highly inaccurate. He claims he had symptoms but IMO he did not. His temp was never over 99 and he has no cough, headache, etc etc

 

Edited June 3, 2020 by cintinative

[PrincessMommy]

On 5/23/2020 at 3:18 PM, happysmileylady said:

DH's doc requested that he get the antibody test.  DH has had a chronic cough that has just gotten worse and worse and worse.  I can best describe it as a smokers cough, though DH hasn't been a smoker for almost 20 yrs.  He has had it since before the pandemic.  In January, my mom and dad got *sick.*  They both said, sickest they have ever been.  We had planned to do our family's Christmas get together the first weekend of January, but ended up postponing it until the second weekend because they were sick.  And then, of course, even though my parents were better, everyone else in the family ended up getting sick...all my siblings, DH, and me as well.  He had his cough before then, but the illness in January was for sure a point that obviously made it worse.  It proceeded to get worse and worse, and finally in March, I was able to convince DH to call his doc about it..............and they were closed. *sigh*

Long story short, he was finally able to get into his doc on like the 7th or 8 of May or so, somewhere around there.  So because of the above, the doc asked him to go get the antibody test, just in case.  They are available to anyone here, no doc order necessary, cost is $65, no insurance accepted, but we were able to use our HSA.  The test was done through CompuNet, and I believe that it's a Quest Labs test, so I dunno about accuracy.

His test was negative.  I didn't really believe he had had it.  The only reason to think my parents might have had it in January (and then passed it to all of us) is that my dad works for a major cargo airline that has had issues with minor outbreaks at other hubs......though no confirmed tests at the airport my dad is at that I am aware of.  

DH still has his cough, and has at this point tried antibiotics, allergy meds, and a couple of OTC things like nasal sprays and such.  They haven't helped.  SO.....I dunno.  

Sorry to be alarmist and i know this isn't the thread for this,, but at this point I would be asking for some tests.  A persistent cough with no known reason is troubling.  I know this is the worst possible time to be dealing with doctors offices.. .but seriously.  Please have him checked out more thoroughly (x-Rays, etc).  

Okay, back to your regularly scheduled discussion.

[Acadie]

Has nobody tested positive for antibodies yet? If not, I'm guessing that speaks to the inaccuracy of the tests.

Still waiting for antibody test availability here.

[ktgrok]

3 hours ago, cintinative said:

So dh had a blood draw today and got up sold for Labcorp’s antibody test. Has anyone seen data on its accuracy? Their website says it is not FDA approved. The trouble is, he will totally not be careful if it comes back positive. Sigh.my only hope is that it likely will not, unless the test is highly inaccurate. He claims he had symptoms but IMO he did not. His temp was never over 99 and he has no cough, headache, etc etc

 

The self pay one for them says it reacts to other coronaviruses as well, if I remember right. 

[cintinative]

8 hours ago, Ktgrok said:

The self pay one for them says it reacts to other coronaviruses as well, if I remember right. 

Yes, that is correct. I found a webpage with information about their test (still not sure whose test it is: Abbott? ) Anyway, it said that a false positive was possible due to inter-reaction with other coronaviruses.  "Positive results may be due to past or present infection with non-SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus strains, such as coronavirus HKU1, NL63, OC43, or 229E."

https://www.labcorp.com/tests/164055/sars-cov-2-antibody-igg

[sassenach]

12 hours ago, Acadie said:

Has nobody tested positive for antibodies yet? If not, I'm guessing that speaks to the inaccuracy of the tests.

Still waiting for antibody test availability here.

I think it may speak more to how few people have gotten Covid. Kind of like when people think they got the flu but really they got some other virus. As someone who got tested, it was definitely wishful thinking on my part. I wanted to have faced the monster and been ok. Instead I now know I haven’t even met the monster. 

[EmseB]

2 hours ago, cintinative said:

Yes, that is correct. I found a webpage with information about their test (still not sure whose test it is: Abbott? ) Anyway, it said that a false positive was possible due to inter-reaction with other coronaviruses.  "Positive results may be due to past or present infection with non-SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus strains, such as coronavirus HKU1, NL63, OC43, or 229E."

https://www.labcorp.com/tests/164055/sars-cov-2-antibody-igg

I have read that they all will say that regardless of accuracy because the cdc requires that statement.

[teachermom2834]

On 5/24/2020 at 3:36 PM, teachermom2834 said:

My 22 yo ds has a job at a country club and he is getting antibody tested this week through there. He hasn't been sick and has pretty much stayed home the whole time so I would be really surprised if he had them but I guess there are large numbers of people with them who never had symptoms.

My 20 yo ds really should be tested. He was really sick in mid March and was negative for everything else they tested him for at his college's health services but they weren't yet testing for Covid. He was working at a job where he was exposed to lots of people traveling from all over, particularly from NY. I would pay to get him tested if it was available. 

My 22 yo ds referenced above came back negative for antibodies. It was expected but he is in a big city and young and healthy so possible he was exposed and didn't get sick. But he was negative.

My dh also got tested and is negative. He hadn't been sick or suspected he had it but he did get a call from a contact tracer in early March and he had been in a doctor's waiting room at the same time as the first known case in our area. He also had more exposure to people at work before he started working from home and he has been still going to doctor appointments and physical therapy and had done the majority of our family errands through this time. Our insurance paid for it fully (as long as it was an FDA approved test) so he went ahead and did it. 

I would have gotten tested if dh was positive but I have no reason to be at this time. 

[TCB]

9 minutes ago, EmseB said:

I have read that they all will say that regardless of accuracy because the cdc requires that statement.

I don't know about CDC requirements but I think it is highly possible that many of  the tests are really inaccurate at the moment. I worked with someone who also works at the local health department and she said that they were very unreliable. Now she does not strike me as someone who is all that well educated on the subject, despite her job, so take that with a pinch of salt.

[RootAnn]

2 hours ago, cintinative said:

Yes, that is correct. I found a webpage with information about their test (still not sure whose test it is: Abbott? ) 

https://www.labcorp.com/tests/164055/sars-cov-2-antibody-igg

I think the Labcorp test is LabCorp's. I looked a lot at this one to try to figure out whose it is, and the only thing I can figure out is that it is their own test.

[DoraBora]

So, could I ask why anyone would do this?  It may tell you that you've had it, but I thought they weren't yet sure that having it confers immunity.

Just curious. thanks.  🙂

ETA: I haven't read the whole thread yet.

Edited June 3, 2020 by DoraBora

[cintinative]

2 hours ago, RootAnn said:

I think the Labcorp test is LabCorp's. I looked a lot at this one to try to figure out whose it is, and the only thing I can figure out is that it is their own test.

Yes, the only thing I could find was an article in the WSJ that referred to Labcorp using Roche and Abbott. I can't find that article, but I did just find this press release:

https://ir.labcorp.com/news-releases/news-release-details/roche-highly-accurate-antibody-test-covid-19-goes-live-more-20

This one says they are using Abbott and Roche. "LabCorp says it is using the Abbott and Roche antibody test platforms. Quest says it’s using Abbott and Euroimmun test platforms."

https://www.inquirer.com/news/coronavirus-antibody-testing-expanding-with-questions-roche-abbott-20200509.html

Edited June 3, 2020 by cintinative

[sassenach]

2 hours ago, DoraBora said:

So, could I ask why anyone would do this?  It may tell you that you've had it, but I thought they weren't yet sure that having it confers immunity.

Just curious. thanks.  🙂

ETA: I haven't read the whole thread yet.

Based on nothing but my own opinion, I think it confers at least temporary immunity. Otherwise, why would they use antibodies to treat patients? 
 

I did it because I just wanted to know if what I was sick with in March was it or not. That was enough reason for me. 

[sassenach]

49 minutes ago, cintinative said:

Yes, the only thing I could find was an article in the WSJ that referred to Labcorp using Roche and Abbott. I can't find that article, but I did just find this press release:

https://ir.labcorp.com/news-releases/news-release-details/roche-highly-accurate-antibody-test-covid-19-goes-live-more-20

This one says they are using Abbott and Roche. "LabCorp says it is using the Abbott and Roche antibody test platforms. Quest says it’s using Abbott and Euroimmun test platforms."

https://www.inquirer.com/news/coronavirus-antibody-testing-expanding-with-questions-roche-abbott-20200509.html

Abbott and Roche are both highly reliable. I posted a link toward the top of the thread that shows the reliability of the currently approved tests. 

[cintinative]

9 minutes ago, sassenach said:

Abbott and Roche are both highly reliable. I posted a link toward the top of the thread that shows the reliability of the currently approved tests. 

 

That's really good to know. My husband did test negative.

[Jean in Newcastle]

3 hours ago, DoraBora said:

So, could I ask why anyone would do this?  It may tell you that you've had it, but I thought they weren't yet sure that having it confers immunity.

Just curious. thanks.  🙂

ETA: I haven't read the whole thread yet.

Curiosity because I was quite sick for six weeks.  I also wanted to know if I did have it if we needed to monitor for things like blood clots or lung damage.

My doctor's reason for approving it was to add to the local research on spread.

[sassenach]

5 hours ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

Curiosity because I was quite sick for six weeks.  I also wanted to know if I did have it if we needed to monitor for things like blood clots or lung damage.

My doctor's reason for approving it was to add to the local research on spread.

Did you get your results yet?

[Jean in Newcastle]

21 minutes ago, sassenach said:

Did you get your results yet?

Yes. Negative. I never had a fever but I had burning respiratory inflammation and symptoms  for six full weeks. I had mixed feelings at the results. Part of me was glad because I didn’t have to worry about the complications I mentioned. Part of me was disappointed that I didn’t have it over with. 

[Paige]

On 5/23/2020 at 3:18 PM, happysmileylady said:

DH's doc requested that he get the antibody test.  DH has had a chronic cough that has just gotten worse and worse and worse.  I can best describe it as a smokers cough, though DH hasn't been a smoker for almost 20 yrs...  

DH still has his cough, and has at this point tried antibiotics, allergy meds, and a couple of OTC things like nasal sprays and such.  They haven't helped.  SO.....I dunno.  

I've never smoked but I was diagnosed with cough variant asthma last year and that's exactly how I'd describe it. Has he tried steroids, a spirometry, and inhalers? The spirometry would be definitive. If he did a trial of the others it may have been too short. I took me a good 3-5 months to get it under control with inhalers, oral steroids, and steroid shots. Even after the shot, it was at least 2-3 weeks before my coughing was mostly gone. My primary doctor did that and sent me to an allergist after (I have no allergies), but you could self refer to an allergist or pulmonologist if your insurance lets you.

[matrips]

On 5/23/2020 at 3:18 PM, happysmileylady said:

DH's doc requested that he get the antibody test.  DH has had a chronic cough that has just gotten worse and worse and worse.  I can best describe it as a smokers cough, though DH hasn't been a smoker for almost 20 yrs.  He has had it since before the pandemic.  In January, my mom and dad got *sick.*  They both said, sickest they have ever been.  We had planned to do our family's Christmas get together the first weekend of January, but ended up postponing it until the second weekend because they were sick.  And then, of course, even though my parents were better, everyone else in the family ended up getting sick...all my siblings, DH, and me as well.  He had his cough before then, but the illness in January was for sure a point that obviously made it worse.  It proceeded to get worse and worse, and finally in March, I was able to convince DH to call his doc about it..............and they were closed. *sigh*

Long story short, he was finally able to get into his doc on like the 7th or 8 of May or so, somewhere around there.  So because of the above, the doc asked him to go get the antibody test, just in case.  They are available to anyone here, no doc order necessary, cost is $65, no insurance accepted, but we were able to use our HSA.  The test was done through CompuNet, and I believe that it's a Quest Labs test, so I dunno about accuracy.

His test was negative.  I didn't really believe he had had it.  The only reason to think my parents might have had it in January (and then passed it to all of us) is that my dad works for a major cargo airline that has had issues with minor outbreaks at other hubs......though no confirmed tests at the airport my dad is at that I am aware of.  

DH still has his cough, and has at this point tried antibiotics, allergy meds, and a couple of OTC things like nasal sprays and such.  They haven't helped.  SO.....I dunno.  

Regarding the cough- my friends son had a bad cough they couldn’t get rid of.  Turned out he was allergic to the vitamin D she was giving him (Vit D3 is made with sheep lanolin I think?). Anyway, his cough disappeared when she stopped giving him those d3 pills.

[sassenach]

FYI: Kaiser members can now get free antibody testing

I'm probably going to get my dd tested just for good measure.

[Pen]

How many on here have had a positive? 

[Jean in Newcastle]

1 minute ago, Pen said:

How many on here have had a positive? 

I had a negative but I recently read something that makes me think that too much time had passed from being sick to getting tested (over two months). Does anyone know if that’s true?  

[The Governess]

I had something suspicious back in January but I’m guessing an antibody test at this point would be too late. I didn’t get one earlier because I was waiting for them to come out with something more accurate. Sigh.

[sassenach]

I hadn’t heard about the timing issue. Ugh. 2 months is such a short immunity window if that’s true. 

[Pen]

2 hours ago, sassenach said:

I hadn’t heard about the timing issue. Ugh. 2 months is such a short immunity window if that’s true. 

 

It isn’t necessarily the immunity window.

There are memory cells and other aspects to immunity.