Am I Immune to COVID-19 if I Have Antibodies?

There are still a lot of questions about who is and isn't immune to COVID-19.

By William Petri, University of Virginia
Jun 12, 2020 8:00 PMJun 13, 2020 12:49 PM
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(Credit: Cryptographer/Shutterstock)

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Perhaps the most important question now about COVID-19 is the degree to which a prior infection protects from a second infection by the new coronavirus. This affects vaccine development and herd immunity and is something for each of us to consider as antibody tests are now available.

I am a physician scientist and have a Ph.D. in microbiology as well as an M.D. My clinical specialty is internal medicine and I subspecialize in infectious diseases. I am working on one approach to COVID-19 vaccination while also caring for hospitalized patients.

Here are my responses to common questions surrounding tests and what they can tell you about immunity.

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