KidDoc said:

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Diyala Nick said:

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KidDoc said:

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J. Walter Weatherman said:

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Gizzards said:

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Biggest problem here beyond the accuracy of the tests is the widespread assumption that if you have the appropriate antibodies, then you are immune. No one knows this to be true yet. Moreover, no one knows how long that immunity, if present lasts. It will take months to a year or more to know the duration of any immunity gained. For now antibody testing is worthless for decision making about activity restrictions. If you pay for the test this is something you should understand. The research is being done to answer these questions. If you just want to get out of the house just take a drive. I'm not recommending antibody testing to my patients as a way to make sure they are immune.

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One of the docs/scientists can correct me if I'm wrong, but while we don't have absolute 100% proof of immunity with antibodies, not having immunity to at least this strain would be pretty significantly out of alignment with our reaction to other viruses, correct?

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Not at all. The vast majority ( I hesitate to say all but it is pretty close to all can anyone think of one that is long term?) do NOT give long term immunity. Flu, RSV, HMV, parainfluenza all have rapidly waning immunity. RSV specifically has been shown to reinfect the same patient during the same season (October to March).

Measles and Varicella can become respiratory but they are DNA viruses and act a bit differently overall. We get permanent immunity to hose.

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There is some nuance to this, no? As in, your antibodies may wane but your t-cells and b cell memory may still offer a layer of protection.

I guess my point here is that immunity is much more of a dimmer than it is a light switch. For most people with prior exposure, that dimmer is likely to afford some protection and make subsequent infections less severe.

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You are 100% correct. There is an unknown level of titer that will likely give COVID immunity. Lower levels will likely still result in a more rapid response. I see this most frequently in Varicella (Chicken Pox) these days. Some immunized kids have a weird wimpy infection with no fever and about 10-20 lesions. Those are partial immunity responders.

On a different point wouldn't it be awesome if the vaccine just turns out to be getting a common coronavirus sprayed up your nose? That would be so easy to manufacture. Sucky side effects but I would do it!

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Quote:

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7. Complete BS tests that were rushed to market to make a buck and capitalize on the fear and "More testing!!!" crowd. Prolly from China.

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RandyAg98 said:

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Unless you are referring to a post I made in response to a hypothetical... what I would do if I tested positive?

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RandyAg98 said:

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I think there are just so many unknowns. Possibilities:

1. Wife got it early on, was asymptomatic, and somehow never spread it to me. She does avoid any physical contact with me, so it's plausible

2. The dumb, incompetent phlebotomist at the lab mixed up our samples. She could barely figure out which blood tube to use, and sure could not hit a vein, so I have no confidence that she was able to keep the samples straight. We literally gave our samples in the same room minutes apart, and I never saw her label my wife's tube before drawing my blood. I have MUCH more potential for exposure than my wife. Nonetheless, one of us was exposed, and one of us was not. Why?

3. Wife got it, again asymptomatically, but I have some sort of innate immunity. Blood type? Cross-reactive antibodies? And kids are just naturally resistant to this for some reason, so my kids never got sick.

4. Wife has antibodies to a different Coronavirus that is cross-reacting. Still, I think whatever she has been exposed to, I should have been as well.

5. False positive

6. False negative

7. Complete BS tests that were rushed to market to make a buck and capitalize on the fear and "More testing!!!" crowd. Prolly from China.

8. I got, it passed it to her, but for some reason I did not make antibodies.

Any other ideas?

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wbt5845 said:

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RandyAg98 said:

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I think there are just so many unknowns. Possibilities:

1. Wife got it early on, was asymptomatic, and somehow never spread it to me. She does avoid any physical contact with me, so it's plausible

2. The dumb, incompetent phlebotomist at the lab mixed up our samples. She could barely figure out which blood tube to use, and sure could not hit a vein, so I have no confidence that she was able to keep the samples straight. We literally gave our samples in the same room minutes apart, and I never saw her label my wife's tube before drawing my blood. I have MUCH more potential for exposure than my wife. Nonetheless, one of us was exposed, and one of us was not. Why?

3. Wife got it, again asymptomatically, but I have some sort of innate immunity. Blood type? Cross-reactive antibodies? And kids are just naturally resistant to this for some reason, so my kids never got sick.

4. Wife has antibodies to a different Coronavirus that is cross-reacting. Still, I think whatever she has been exposed to, I should have been as well.

5. False positive

6. False negative

7. Complete BS tests that were rushed to market to make a buck and capitalize on the fear and "More testing!!!" crowd. Prolly from China.

8. I got, it passed it to her, but for some reason I did not make antibodies.

Any other ideas?

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So, the test yielded more questions than answers?

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KlinkerAg11 said:

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Do you think it's possible for cross immunity?

I've wondered if that's why it acts differently for certain folks. (Mild symptoms)

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DadHammer said:

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I called and specifically asked about that and they said that will not happen. So that's out from what I was told over the phone.

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RandyAg98 said:

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In your opinion what test would be the best one to take to get re-tested?

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