One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
The Truth About Antibody Tests
This illustration reveals the morphology exhibited by coronaviruses. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
We’re asking public health officials and experts to answer your questions about the COVID-19 pandemic. Keep in mind that this information does not constitute professional medical advice. For questions regarding your own health, always consult a physician.
There’s been a recent surge in interest among our readers for information about available tests that will feasibly determine whether or not they've built up antibodies against the coronavirus. Why all the attention? Well, in the last week and a half, 90 different tests have come on the market and a USC study suggested somewhere between 220,000 and 440,000 Angelenos have already been infected with COVID-19.
But while these tests “hold promise for a variety of things,” says Dr. George Rutherford, a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco, they’re “not a panacea by any stretch of the imagination.”
“For people like me, they're great for epidemiologic studies to understand where the virus has been, but they're not particularly good for a diagnosis, because it takes something like at least 11, 12 maybe as many as 18 days for them to turn positive after infection.”
Our news is free on LAist. To make sure you get our coverage: Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter. To support our non-profit public service journalism: Donate Now.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
