Let me start off by saying that testing makes a big difference in the way we take care of each and every case of this virus. It allows us to locate and treat, isolate, or hospitalise the affected individual. Testing is the only effective way to deal with COVID-19, unless we get vacinnes or herd immunity (which is a long time ahead on the road). If you have symptoms, don’t delay, and get tested as soon as possible to help stop the spread! 👍
COVID-19 (a.k.a. “Coronavirus”, “SARS-CoV-2”). Every continent is affected by it (all but Antarctica, of course 😂) and it’s one of the worst worldwide pandemics ever since 1918 — ever since the Flu Pandemic (H1N1 Virus).
Now that this deadly and fast-spreading virus is part of our lives, government officials are urging us to get tested for COVID-19. But, how is the test conducted? What does it feel like? What are the sciences behind the testing process? These questions will be answered below 🙌
How is the COVID-19 Test Conducted (Viral)?
You would go to the testing centre, and the person doing the viral test would do the following things:
- Tilt your head back
- Place the swab at an angle into your nose.
- They will then “swab” (twist) the inside of your nose to get a good specimen.
- Afterwards, the swab is placed into the collection tube, and swirls it around the “media”.
- Then, they close the cap. And place it in the “biohazard” bag.
That’s all from your side! Afterwards, the test is sent over to the lab to test for the virus ⛅️
But — there’s a lot of buts — these tests mentioned above only test for a patient who currently has COVID-19. What if you want to find out if you’ve had COVID-19 in the past? That’s where the antibody test comes in! 🥳
How is the COVID-19 Test Conducted (Antibody)?
Let me note that antibodies are your own body’s mechanism to fight a disease, like COVID-19. They are made by your bodies whenever you get into contact with another disease. The benefit of having antibodies is that you’re going to have a lasting immunity to the virus. Think of them as your body’s soldiers. They’ll locate, and attack the target. This is put simply, of course, you can check out this link for further knowledge.
Antibody tests will definitely hurt more than viral tests — here’s what the testing person does to you:
- Typically, they would do a viral test to confirm whether or not you currently have COVID-19.
- Then, the doctor would collect a blood sample from you by injection.
- They will then place it into the collection tube and put it into a biohazard bag.
However, there are a few downfalls to antibody tests 😮
Why Is Antibody Testing Ineffective?
- We simply do not have enough information about what we can do with the results. See, some antibody tests are “qualitative” — they tell you a yes or no answer (whether you’re positive or negative), and some others will give you a “quantitative” result — a numerical value we have to depict ourselves (with a reference range).
- With regards to the qualitative results, the positive or negative simply only tells you that you had or have not had COVID-19. It does not tell you how immune you are to it. In the same way, in regards to a quantitative test, we do not have enough info to help decipher whether one has COVID-19 or not 😟 However, quantitative tests are better than qualitative.
- The sciences behind these tests are simply not mature enough yet.
- Further, it is said that antibody tests are inaccurate. To avoid information overloading, you can check out this link to read more about the study.
That said, no matter how confused you are on which test to do — antibody or viral — you still should go ahead and either one of the tests.
Does it Hurt?
I get this question a lot. It depends on how much “pain” you can handle 🙏
When you do a viral test, the nasal swab goes into your nose, and of course, it’s a bit uncomfortable. It’ll feel ticklish and it’ll feel like something hard pushed into your nose and it’ll be like that for a few minutes — but it doesn’t “hurt”, per se, it just feels weird.
Antibody tests will definitely hurt more, the doctor will pull out blood from you. Feels like the blood samples you’ve taken in the past.
Sciences Behind COVID-19 Testing
COVID-19 enters your body mostly through airborne transmission. Maybe someone coughs or sneezes, and you directly get COVID-19. Maybe someone sneezed onto a pole, then you touch the pole and put it into your face. It’ll also transmit that way. That’s why the CDC and WHO recommend that you should not touch your face. Once COVID-19 goes into your body, it attacks the cells and uses your own body’s mechanism to duplicate itself (pretty greedy, eh? 😂). If severe, it’ll reach your respiratory system and you’ll be attacked. Worst effect? Death.
- Coronavirus contains genetic material inside of it, in the form of an RNA. I spelt that right. It’s not DNA.
- The RNA is unique to the virus, just like my RNA is different to other fellow beings.
- There are many methods to interpret the RNA, and the most common one is a method known as “reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction” which is also known as RTCPR.
- In this process, the RNA is converted to DNA, and the DNA is multiplied into a sample large enough for genetic analysis.
- If the sample matches the profile of the virus, the test will yield a “positive” result.
- If not, it’ll yield a “negative” result.
The method explained above is for Viral testing, and the science for antibody testing is different.
Antibody testing:
- Tests for IgM antibodies. It is mostly found in blood and the lymph fluid. This antibody is the first antibody your body makes to fight the virus. It makes sense why we test for IgM then, right?
- The antibody testing also look for IgG antibodies — they are the ones that stay in the human body and provide long-term protection 🌟
The Beautiful Thing About Having Too Many Antibodies
- You can opt-in, to providing the plasma of the antibodies to someone else and help treat them — possibly saving their lives.
- This is possible because you are providing the antibodies that can help fight off the disease to someone else who has none.
- We still have little info about antibodies, and we don’t know how long the COVID-19 ones last (or how effective they are!)
- That’s why the scientists and doctors and all those who are in it with this journey (including you!) has helped a lot with fighting off this deadly disease! 😍
We can get through this together, and we will succeed through this tough time. ❤️
Resources:
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgiMqePRp0Y
[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYTG7K3YlZ0&t=100s
[4] https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/what-are-antibodies-explainer
[5] https://www.livescience.com/antibodies.html
[6] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYTG7K3YlZ0&t=100s
[9] https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/coronavirus-antibody-tests-have-a-mathematical-pitfall/
[10] https://www.jax.org/news-and-insights/2020/may/the-science-behind-coronavirus-antibody-testing
[11] https://www.webmd.com/lung/antibody-testing-covid-19#1
[12] https://www.thoughtco.com/dna-versus-rna-608191
[13] http://medicalrepublic.com.au/goodbye-brain-scrapers-covid-swabbing-method-has-changed/33389
[14] https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/test-immunoglobulins.html
Thanks for reading this article — this is my first ever article I wrote, and I’d love some new current affair topics I could write about!
Feel free to comment some, and share this article too! It’ll help tons!
DISCLAIMER
Always seek the guidance of your doctor or other qualified health professional with any questions you may have regarding COVID-19. Never disregard the advice of a medical professional, or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this article.
Hopefully, this wasn’t too much information, haha!
Stay safe, follow hygiene, and social distancing, wear masks and check out the WHO and CDC page about COVID-19 to keep updated about this worldwide infecting disease!
Best of Regards,
~ Evan 🚀
