Antibody Testing Is Critical in Overcoming the COVID-19 Pandemic—Now and in the Future

Antibody tests play an important role throughout the patient care pathway and are vital for the management and surveillance of the virus. They are critical in determining the full scope of the disease, combating the pandemic, and rebuilding public confidence. 

Highly accurate antibody tests help inform clinical and public health decisions as we look towards safely opening our communities. Antibody tests can be used for the following:

• As an adjunct to PCR tests to aid in clinical assessment^1,2
• To help determine prior exposure to the virus^3,4
• To potentially identify donors of convalescent plasma^3-5
• For epidemiological purposes including establishing prevalence of disease in populations

Specificity in COVID-19 testing
For SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing, the CDC suggests use of tests with a specificity ≥99.5% to minimize the potential for false-positive results.²

There are numerous tests that claim to detect antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 virus; only a few are highly accurate: 

Siemens Healthineers offers both the SARS-CoV-2 Total Antibody test and the SARS-CoV-2 IgG Antibody test. The combination of these tests provides a complete picture of a patient’s serological status for the most accurate results throughout his or her continuum of care.

SARS-CoV-2 Total (COV2T) Qualitative and Semi-quantitative Test*
The COV2T test detects both IgM and longer-lasting IgG antibodies with 100% sensitivity^† and 99.8% specificity for recent and prior infection. This test is more appropriate to detect earlier and later seroconversion.

SARS-CoV-2 IgG (COV2G) Qualitative and Semi-quantitative Test*
The COV2G test is a qualitative and semi-quantitative SARS-CoV-2 antibody test that enables clinicians to detect the level of IgG antibodies in a patient’s blood sample and assess relative changes over time. The test is more appropriate for later seroconversion. With this numerical value, clinicians will have a baseline and be better equipped to track the long-term duration of an individual’s immune response. Comparison of numerical results will help determine how the immune response develops in an individual and persists over time.

The SARS-COV-2 IgG antibody test offers 99.9% sensitivity, which is critical for detecting the adaptive immune response accurately.