Am I safe now? Covid-19 anxiety spurs antibody testing in Nagpur

NAGPUR: IT professional Rushikesh Jirapure got his second dose of Covid-19 vaccine in the first week of June and was keen to know whether antibodies have developed or not. He went to a private lab and had a kit-based IgG antibody test done.
“My result was positive. It cost me Rs900, but now I’m 100% sure that I have the antibodies. It’s worth to pay some money for this additional sense of security,” said Jirapure.
Many labs where kit-based IgG antibody tests are done have reported spike in number of people coming for the tests. These include both — those who have recovered from Covid-19 and those who have got jabbed. Many overenthusiastic people are opting the tests after the first dose itself or immediately after the second jab.
“This is simple kit-based test and hence people are eager to do it. As more people are getting vaccinated, demand for antibody test has also gone up,” said Dr Shailesh Mundhada, director of Dhruv Lab.
IgG antibodies generally start appearing after two weeks of onset of infection, once the individual has recovered after infection and last for several months. In case of vaccination, it takes two weeks post second dose to develop detectable antibodies.
Dr Sandeep Warghade, director of Star Labs, said testing antibodies may add to confusion. “Vaccine can create either humoral immunity or cellular immunity in your body. Humoral immunity can be detected in the test, whereas cellular immunity cannot. This may lead the person into confusion whether he has got the antibodies or not,” said Dr Warghade.
“Humoral immunity secretes antibodies to fight against antigens, whereas cell-mediated immunity secretes cytokines and not antibodies to attack the pathogens. Humoral immunity is rapid or quick in action against antigens, while cell-mediated immunity shows delay through permanent action against any pathogen. Both are effective,” said experts.
Further, there are many kits available in the market and the results may vary. “There is scope for further standardization in antibody tests. Your test in one lab on certain kit may result negative, but on other kit, it could be positive. So, you can always avoid unnecessary testing for antibodies,” said microbiologist Dr Sandhya Nikam.