To Better Track The Coronavirus, An LA Antibody Study

Testing people to see if they currently have COVID-19 only tells us so much. It’s perhaps more important to know who has had it, including those who never got sick.
That’s where a blood test for antibodies comes in.
You develop antibodies a few days after getting infected. That information can help us better determine how far the virus has spread and how deadly it really is.
To start getting answers, researchers with USC and L.A. County launched a study today to test a demographically-representative group of 1,000 Angelenos for COVID-19 antibodies.
“That information is needed, because right now, we are making decisions about this disease based not on real data or evidence, but based on worst case scenarios from mathematical models,” said USC Professor Dr. Neeraj Sood, who’s leading the study along with officials from the L.A. County Department of Public Health.
LA Antibody Study Will Try To Determine Extent Of Coronavirus Spread
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