Originally Posted by
Dan1113
Wonder how the NHS antibody tests work...
The standard NHS antibody test isn't good on the newly vaccinated. There are two tests available, and from a public health point of view both have value (e.g. if you now get a positive result or catch COVID-19 despite the vaccine). But useless from a personal perspective, writes someone who has been antibody tested weekly for nearly a year now. There is an antibody test looking for S proteins / spike protein, and that's the one you need and usually your NHS provider will switch tests if you tell them you've been vaccinated. After your second dose you get a clearer picture on S spike anyway, but you need to wait 16 days after that dose. A negative result can still happen and yet the real world evidence shows you would be protected by the vaccine. Indeed Pfizer can provoke T cell immunity in just a few days so bypassing B cells very quickly.
I advise vaccinated people not to get them because the results are not meaningful. Israel's approach is not sensible either, and will presumably be dropped in due course.