Prof. Nachman Ash: “Anyone who has been a week since being vaccinated in the second dose will not go into isolation” // Photo: GPO
Recently, commercial companies, sometimes in collaboration with hospitals, have begun offering antibody tests and “home tests” for a fee of up to NIS 400. The epidemic treatment team advises people not to perform these tests for the stated purposes and even says that “there are paid antibody tests for fraud”.
In a position paper submitted by the team for the treatment of epidemics, the professional body advising the Ministry of Health stated that “According to current data, serological tests are not yet a reliable and valid tool for determining the level of protection against infection. Neither after recovery from disease nor after receiving the vaccine. “To monitor vaccination, but as part of a medical study. It is also not recommended to use serological tests after illness to check if the person is at risk of re-infection.”
The epidemic treatment team further notes that only a protocol that uses two different tests can define a person as recovering from coronary heart disease, even though it did not turn out positive in a pen test. “Despite this, it is not recommended to perform a serological test without a special reason just to identify a person as a patient before giving the vaccine,” the report notes.
The team’s experts further note that there is no justification for awarding a green card based on serological tests, emphasizing that “their use to assess a person’s protection against infection is speculative and not based on data. .
Based on studies from around the world, experts estimate that recovery from corona results in a high and prolonged level of protection and perhaps even better than that provided by the vaccine. Evidence for this claim is the paucity of reports of re-infection. But the indication for the level of protection does not depend solely on measuring the level of antibodies, but on other components of the immune system (e.g. T cells).
“We recommend that you do not rely on various commercial serological tests to determine the immunity and degree of immunity of recoverers, from re-infection, nor as a contraindication or contraindication – to vaccinate the recovering. Serological tests. Among recovering patients, “the experts in the epidemic treatment team explain.
Dr. Tal Brosh, director of the Infectious Diseases Unit at Assuta Ashdod Public Hospital, the Center for Epidemic Therapy at the Ministry of Health and a member of the Vaccine Prioritization Committee, said: In the evening, on behalf of the epidemiological team, we would like to warn against the irresponsible use of these tests. It is not known at this time the link between the level of antibodies and protection against infection. Vaccination – Receiving two doses of Corona vaccine should result in 95% protection against disease, regardless of the known level of antibodies in the tests. ”
Meanwhile, Dr. Brosh explains that “in light of this, there are very limited situations in which it is currently advisable to perform a serological examination. I do not recommend people just go and check if they have or do not have antibodies, whether they have been sick, not sick, vaccinated or not vaccinated. Anyone who is not known to be ill should be vaccinated. And medical services of one kind or another that guarantee the interpretation of those protected against disease according to the level of antibodies, there is even a bit of public deception in this. “