Negative for antibodies

[Ollie13]

My husband and I have been involved with the ONS surveys. We get tested via swab for Covid 19 monthly.

We have just started giving blood to check for antibodies. My husband and I have had both vaccines and I was shocked today when my husband's results came back positive for antibodies but yet mine came back NEGATIVE.

Help does that mean I can still contract Covid and is my negative test due to my cancer/treatment. Can anyone please advise me as I am so worried 😔.

[RoyCastleHelpline Partner Ask the Nurse Roy Castle]

Hi,Antibodies are proteins created by your body’s immune system soon after you have been vaccinated. It is possible to have had the vaccine and receive a negative antibody result. This can happen for some people because they do not develop antibodies, or they may not produce high enough levels of antibody to be detected using the test. Also, a highly sensitive test will identify most people who truly have antibodies. However, there is some evidence that up to 10% of individuals with antibodies being missed by the test (false negatives). It may take a few weeks for your body to build up some protection from the vaccine. Like all medicines, no vaccine is completely effective, so you should continue to take recommended precautions to avoid infection.

All the best from the Roy Castle helpline support team.

[BellaBe]

I’m not sure I can actually answer your question but maybe my experience may help.I am on targeted therapy for stage 4 lung cancer with brain mets, hopefully still well controlled. I have had both my vaccines but had a slightly longer gap between the two due to SRS for my brain mets and being on steroids. Not a good time for a vaccine!

So I was concerned that maybe I had not been able to build antibodies due to my reduced immune system.

I asked my GP for an antibody test so had one with my monthly bloods for oncology.

I got a text from my healthcare trust saying my test was negative. Needless to say I was disappointed and concerned.

It was only after a conversation with the pharmacist at my GP practice that she said the test that was negative was for antibodies produced after having Covid but another test showed a positive result for the spike protein in the vaccine that fights the Covid if you catch it. I wouldn’t have known this if I hadn’t double checked.

So my advice is get it double checked, errors are made all the time and just because you have cancer it doesn’t mean you can’t have a functioning immune system. If your full blood count is good chances are you should be ok. Definitely speak to your consultant or nurse specialist. My lung cancer nurse is always on standby for any questions.

Hope you sort it all out.

Kind regards

[Ollie13 in reply to BellaBe]

BellaBeThanks I see my consultant in a few weeks and will discuss this with him my blood count has been good recently I wish you well and stay safe xx