Boone Hospital Center partners with Mayo Clinic for antibody tests

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Boone Hospital Center can now test for novel coronavirus antibodies.

Chief Medical Officer Dr. Robin Blount said Monday that the hospital contracted with Mayo Clinic to run the tests. Blount said Boone will probably be able to run the tests locally in the future.

"They will only test to see if you have antibodies and have recovered from a course of COVID," Blount said. "It is not testing to see if you have an active case of COVID."

Boone already has a station collecting samples to see if patients' have COVID-19. The tests are only available for people with doctors' orders.

Though the hospital said it feels comfortable using the antibody tests through Mayo Clinic, Blount warned that several companies developing the tests are rushing them out.

"There is actually a number of labs all over the country that are rolling it out," Blount said. "The problem is there is not a lot of regulation or validation of some of those tests."

Blount said there are two waves of antibodies. The first is IGM, which shows your body has just started the process of developing immunity to the coronavirus. The second wave is IGG, which is what is thought to provide immunity.

The antibody test specifically looks for IGG as a sign the body has built antibodies to fight off the novel coronavirus.

"The problem with COVID-19 is that it's too new," Blount said. "We don't really know enough about it. We really don't 100% know if IGG antibodies protect you from getting it again. We think they are protecting to at least a certain extent."

However, Blount said the antibody test is helpful, especially for health care workers. If they are found to have the antibody, there is less risk for contracting the virus.

On a mass scale, the test also helps identify those in a certain population who have already had the virus and recovered, helping build herd immunity.

"We don't have the testing to do that," Blount said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention started studies during the week of March 30 on antibody tests.

According to the CDC, it takes up to two weeks after a COVID-19 infection for a person to develop antibodies that can be identified in testing.

The CDC website said the agency is evaluating the tests by the end of this month.