After Four Antibody Tests, I’m Still Not Sure I’ve Had Covid-19
Rapid kits produce contradictory results and little peace of mind when it comes to immunity from the virus
By Stephanie Baker
Central London was deserted when I arrived at the clinic for my first test for antibodies to the novel coronavirus. After more than a month stuck at home under lockdown, I’d anxiously donned a mask and ventured into the city’s financial district, where a doctor was offering a test.
Like many struggling through the pandemic, I suspected that I might have been infected with Covid-19 a while back and was eager to find out for sure. The doctor took a small lancet, pricked my finger and pipetted a drop of blood into a plastic cassette. As the weak control line began forming in the results window, I nervously waited to see if I’d had it.
It was the first of what turned into a series of maddening, discomfiting, nerve-wracking tests with conflicting results that left me even more anxious — and with more questions than at the start. Countless people such as me have been having “I think I might have had it” conversations around virtual watercoolers during the lockdown. Antibody testing has been trumpeted by U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other world leaders as a…
