Check for the presence of COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) antibodies in your blood indicating a past COVID-19 natural infection, or the presence of spike total antibodies following vaccination.
SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Panel
(OMNI Order Code: COV2AB; Ontario Panel Test Code CVAB; Manitoba Panel Test Code 0649) Includes Total Nucleocapsid Qualitative and Total Spike Quantitative Antibody tests.
The SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Test Panel determines both presence and levels of antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. This test is helpful to identify patients previously infected by COVID-19 and to determine the presence of antibodies in individuals who have been vaccinated.
Can be used for natural exposure and/or post-vaccine.
The test should be done 14 days or more after onset of natural infection. It will not tell you if you have COVID-19 right now, and a negative result does not entirely rule out previous exposure. Generally, a minimum of 28 days after the first vaccine dose is recommended before having an antibody test performed.
It is yet undetermined what level of antibody to SARS-CoV-2 spike protein correlates to immunity against developing symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 disease.
The Nucleocapsid Antibody test detects antibodies generated from natural exposure only. The Spike Antibody test detects antibodies generated through natural exposure and/or post-vaccination, but cannot differentiate between the two.
In Ontario and Manitoba, the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) Antibody Test is $75. Currently, Dynacare offers this test in Ontario, Manitoba and Quebec only. For more information on this test in Quebec, please contact Customer Care at 1 800 565 5721.
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What Are Antibodies?
Antibodies are microscopic proteins made by the blood cells when your body fights off an infection. Antibodies may protect you from getting the same disease again. For example, when you get sick with chickenpox or receive the chickenpox vaccine, your blood cells respond by making antibodies that protect you from getting it in the future. This is how immunity happens, although it doesn’t occur with all diseases.
A positive antibody test result may indicate previous or current exposure to an illness but should NOT be used to infer immunity status or infectivity. It is unknown whether COVID-19 antibodies indicate protective immunity and for how long.
A negative test result does not rule out the possibility of an infection with SARS-CoV-2. Serum or plasma samples from the very early (pre-seroconversion) phase can yield negative findings. Therefore, this test cannot be used to diagnose an acute infection. It has also been reported that certain patients with confirmed infection do not develop SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Furthermore, waning of antibody titers has been reported in some individuals within a range of months after infection, a feature which has also been reported for other coronaviruses.