FDA approves test designed to measure specific COVID-19 antibody levels

(Image credit: Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images)

published 25 November 2020

The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved a "new generation" COVID-19 antibody test which is designed to tell how well people are protected against subsequent infection.

Most antibody tests are able to determine whether a person has contracted the virus or not, and some can estimate the level of neutralizing antibodies someone has, CNBC notes. But the newly-authorized COVID-SeroKlir developed by Kantaro BioSciences measures specific levels.

The catch is that scientists aren't sure if high levels of antibody guarantee COVID-19 immunity, so the test won't necessarily serve as proof that someone is protected against re-infection just yet. What it will do, however, is allow researchers to gain a better understanding about the correlation between antibody levels and immunity, which will come in handy both for people who have been exposed to the virus already and for vaccine development.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox