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Could a simple blood test for COVID-19 antibodies help reopen the economy?
ABC News ^ | 04/08/2020 | By Anne Flaherty , Dr. Mark Abdelmalek and Lucien Bruggeman

Posted on 04/08/2020 5:01:10 PM PDT by SeekAndFind

With a White House increasingly anxious to get the economy in gear and an approved vaccine for the novel coronavirus still months away at best, public health officials are hoping that tens of millions of Americans will have access to a simple blood test that can identify recovered patients who've developed some kind of immune response to the virus.

The idea behind the push is that people who have been exposed to the virus form antibodies in their bloodstream that may help them to fight off another infection. The hope is that the body's antibodies against COVID-19 can diminish the chances of re-infection. Theoretically, those found to have immunized antibodies could then return to work and help reignite the economy.

Commercial labs are scrambling to develop and distribute serologic tests, as they are known, in large quantities -- and the federal government is doing its best to expedite an approval process that is, under normal circumstances, lengthy and cumbersome.

Adm. Brett Giroir, tapped by President Donald Trump to lead testing efforts, said he is "very optimistic" that tens of millions of the tests will be available by May. And he says it could dramatically change what we know about the scope of infection inside the United States.

"That's really important as we think about re-opening the country and the economy because if you've had the virus and you've had an immune response to it, in all probability you are immune and safe from the virus," Giroir said on ABC's "Good Morning America" on Monday.

Others remain skeptical. Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the former head of U.S. Food and Drug Administration under President Trump, told ABC News he does not view the antibody test as a game-changer in the effort to reopen the economy.

(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: antibodies; bloodtest; covid19; dsj02; economy
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To: Wonder Warthog
Thus directly endangering many other lives. You selfish little twits give a pain. "Ima go to spring break and screw everyone else" mentality.

How am I endangering anyone's life if I don't have the virus, have immunity against it or if the panic-strickened remain in their hidey-holes?

Don't you worry though. The grownups will carry the burden for all you snowflakes when the hard work of putting this country back together starts.

When the work is done you can crawl out into the sunshine and pat yourselves on the back because you dutifully obeyed your masters.

41 posted on 04/09/2020 7:27:20 PM PDT by Shethink13 (there are 0 electoral votes in the state of denial)
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To: Shethink13

1000 random tests will provide a good clue


42 posted on 04/09/2020 9:08:38 PM PDT by AndyJackson
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To: Shethink13

What Immunity to COVID-19 Really Means
https://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3833679/posts


43 posted on 04/10/2020 6:09:21 AM PDT by familyop ("Welcome to Costco. I love you." - -Costco greeter in the movie, "Idiocracy")
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To: Shethink13
"How am I endangering anyone's life if I don't have the virus, have immunity against it or if the panic-strickened remain in their hidey-holes?"

I'll say it yet again....you don't know if you have the virus or not...and until you do so know, then you need to abide by the restrictions imposed by our duly elected officials.

I've advocated in other comments on this thread for a science-based way forward, which, in your eagerness to descend into insults, you apparently missed.

And you can take your insulting comments and stick'em in whichever of your orifices you prefer.

44 posted on 04/10/2020 6:18:26 AM PDT by Wonder Warthog (The Hog of Steel and NRA Life Member)
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To: Shethink13

Can You Get Coronavirus Twice? How Long Are You Immune After COVID-19?
https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2020/03/15/can-you-get-infected-by-coronavirus-twice-how-does-covid-19-immunity-work/

Questions raised over COVID-19 reinfection after Japanese woman develops illness again
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/02/28/national/coronavirus-reinfection/

Korean woman reinfected with coronavirus after recovery
https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2020/02/119_285335.html


45 posted on 04/10/2020 6:19:27 AM PDT by familyop ("Welcome to Costco. I love you." - -Costco greeter in the movie, "Idiocracy")
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