PITTSBURGH (Newsradio 1020 KDKA) - A blood test being developed at the University of Pittsburgh could identify people with little to no risk of being infected by the new COVID-19 virus.
Further testing at the Center for Vaccine Research will see if certain antibodies are the immune type that neutralize the virus.
A statement from UPMC explains where they currently are with testing:
UPMC is exploring the use of blood tests to determine if a person has antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Such a test could indicate if a person already had infection, perhaps without symptoms, and recovered. However, at present there is little guidance on what it means if someone has antibodies. These can be found in people with ongoing disease, and those who have recovered. Furthermore, the current tests do not determine if a person is immune to the disease.
Please rest assured that we understand the value of such antibody-detection tests -- for community surveillance, epidemiological tracing and individual diagnosis, among others. These will be more valuable when we learn more about the implications of the positives. We are working hard to find ways to make limited supplies of this test as valuable to our communities as possible.
We do not have the capabilities to test the general public at this time. We are still determining the meaning of the tests. In addition, we expect that supplies will continue to be extremely limited. Once available, it will likely be used in conjunction with various local and national clinical trials that UPMC is organizing or participating in.
Last week, UPMC announced a potential vaccine for COVID-19 and are awaiting approval to start human trials.a
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