Cardiologist Dr. VT Shah, who has been away from laboratories for 11 months, has been keen to resume practice after vaccination. Two weeks after taking the first dose on January 20, he had an antibody test at Breach Candy Hospital that turned negative. He took the antibody test again after taking the second jab on February 20th. “My levels were over 220,” Shah said. “It gave me confidence to resume training, but I’m still wearing a mask.”
Some health workers use the test to calculate the second dose of vaccination. The time interval between vaccine doses, especially Covishield, has been a matter of debate, the WHO has said that the second dose is most effective if taken between 8-12 weeks, while the Union Ministry of Health has lagged behind. at least four weeks.
Dr. Prince Surana, CEO of Sureth Sethia Hospital in Chembur, said: “After the first dose, my protein level increased to 80 U / Ml. If my antibody wasn’t that great, I might have been late for the second dose. ”
The laboratory says that they only respond to the company’s request. “The test will give us a lot of data on low, moderate and high levels of antibodies, which can show how much is suitable for fighting the virus,” said Dr. Nilesh Shah, president of Metropolis Healthcare.
Dr. Anupa Dixit of Suburban Diagnostics said the tests act as insurance at the end of two strokes. “The best time to check for antibodies is 15 days after the second shot,” she said.
Some believe that the test can be useless and even unsafe. Dr. Sujata Baveja, who heads the microbiology department at Sion Hospital, said not all Covid-19 antibody testing kits are reliable.
The US CDC does not recommend antibody testing after vaccination and adds that there is no information on revaccination or additional doses if no antibodies are present. Rahul Pandit, a member of the Covid state task force, said the antibody neutralization test can give people a false sense of satisfaction because they can feel they can wait before getting the vaccine or the second dose. According to immunologist Dr. Mukesh Desai of Wadia Hospital, sometimes patients have higher protective T cells, even though their antibodies may be undetectable. “Once the effectiveness of the vaccines has been determined, what’s the point of doing an antibody test?”