Giving Compass' Take:
- Johns Hopkins University highlights a newly developed blood test that could confirm if a person has received a COVID-19 vaccine in just five minutes.
- How can donors support the effective use of tools like this to protect public health?
- Read about ensuring equitable access to the tools to end COVID-19.
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One challenge as society reopens is identifying who has been vaccinated for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
The new COVID-19 antibody test is similar to one used at home to determine blood type, where the user pricks a finger and places a drop of blood on a card. A fusion protein the research team developed that’s housed on the card detects COVID-19 antibodies, tiny proteins in the blood which the immune system produces to “remember” viral encounters and provide immunity to future infections.
Results come back in less than five minutes, faster than current lateral flow tests to detect antibodies at point of care, while also potentially providing a clearer result.
The blood test could be used to confirm a person’s vaccination instead of having to show a vaccine card, says Robert Kruse, a pathology resident at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine who created the card. Kruse is also lead author of a paper available on medRxiv ahead of peer-reviewed publication.
Read the full article about the new COVID-19 antibody test at Futurity.