Researchers at Western University have created a better antibody test for COVID-19

A team of researchers at Western University have collaborated with University of Toronto researchers to develop a new antibody test for COVID-19, which works in five minutes and has shown great accuracy so far. Antibody tests use a blood sample to determine whether a person has immunity to the virus, either from receiving a vaccine or having been infected in the past.

Some other antibody tests have already been approved by Health Canada, but they are very expensive and results take a long time, so they’re not well-suited to widespread community use. The Western team, led by Professor Shawn Li, wanted to build a test that could help public health authorities make agile decisions about where to allocate resources and determine how much of a community possesses immunity. The test is currently being peer-reviewed, but early feedback is very promising, with no false negatives and hardly any false positives reported in testing.

Source: CTV News