Blood test could soon determine if you are immune to COVID-19

BOSTON - There may soon be an easier way to determine whether you're immune to COVID-19.

It's been hard to measure how protected someone is against COVID-19. Antibody testing doesn't tell the whole picture because white blood cells called T-cells likely play a large role as well.

Now an international group of researchers has discovered a way to measure T-cell activity against COVID-19 and provide results within 24 hours.

They say a combination of antibody testing and a measure of T-cell activity will provide a much clearer picture of how robust someone's immunity is, how long protection will last, and how often booster doses are needed.

The technology is already available in the U.K. but still awaits FDA approval here in the U.S.

Coronavirus

Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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