An antigen test may be recommended for patients that have active symptoms of COVID-19 or may have been recently exposed to COVID-19. An antibody test may be recommended for a person who was previously exposed or had COVID, if they want to know if the body has developed an antibody for COVID-19.

An antigen test is designed to detect antigens early on. As the duration of illness increases, an antigen sample may decrease. Specimens collected after day 5 of illness may be more likely to be negative compared to a RT-PCR assay.

An antibody test is suggested to detect as early as 2 weeks after symptoms start, peaks at 3 to 4 weeks, and decreases over time.

The possible benefits of a COVID-19 Antibody test are that results are quick and may help a patient reveal if the body has made antibodies to COVID-19. The test gives a qualitative or “yes/no” result in about 15 minutes. Antibodies may provide additional protection against COVID-19. In addition you may qualify to donate Convalescent donor plasma which may help patients with active COVID-19 infections.

These tests have an Emergency Authorization Use (EUA) from the FDA. FDA may issue EUA when certain criteria are met, which includes that there are no adequate, approved, or available alternatives, and based on the totality of scientific evidence available. An EUA has not undergone the same type of review as an FDA-approved Test and is not FDA-approved or cleared.

If you test positive for an antibody test, you should continue to follow CDC guidelines including physical distancing, hand-washing, and mask-wearing. A positive test does NOT mean the patient is immune or protected from getting infected again.

False negative results may occur in patients who are currently taking, or have a history of taking high doses of biotin (more than 10 mg per day).