抗体テストの注意事項

However, experts warned of the risk of creating a false sense of security for those with positive antibody test results, as they offer no guarantee of immunity. While it is hoped that the presence of antibodies reduces or removes the risk of reinfection, this has not yet been proved. The length of any immunity gained is also unknown.


“Having these antibodies is a reliable way of confirming that someone has been infected previously. Their presence does not indicate that someone is immune, and it should be remembered that any post-infection immunity may dwindle rapidly … We just don’t know enough about what it takes to make someone immune to Covid-19 to accurately test people,” he said.

There were various uses for the test, he said. “The sense we get is that initially it will be used in returning staff and to serve the needs of the vaccine,” he said. It will be important to find out how quickly antibody levels that are raised after vaccination wane over time.

The other major use of antibody tests is across populations, to find out what proportion of people have been infected. They can help decide whether some groups of people are more likely to get infected than others and whether there are regional variations. Several studies have already begun, including one from Biobank, which is planning to test 20,000 participants, their children and grandchildren.

抗体テストをして陽性がでれば、医療従事者や介護従事者の仕事の復帰ができる目安になるし、人口のどれだけ感染しているか、また、特に感染しやすい属性の人々などの調査に使えるが、陽性がでても、免疫があるとは限らず、免疫があってもどれだけの期間免疫として機能するかはいまだわからないので、そこらへん注意しないと危険だ、と。