I did an antibody test 20 days after my Oxford jab. The threshold is 0.8 and I scored 2.1 so confirmed antibodies.
I know someone who is a lead immunologist at Imperial, evidently Pfizer gives very good protection after 12 days but Oxford much slower out of the blocks and needs 21 days.
Re side effects, I’m hearing that people who have had CV-19 get more of a reaction than people having first jab. Also, people having a second jab seem to get a bit more of a reaction than after their first dose.
This seems to imply that a reaction is good news re a strong immune system but nobody has a conclusive answer that I’ve seen.
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Paul123456
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Very mild, just slightly sore arm for a day. I followed internet advice re arm exercise immediately before the jab, meant to improve efficacy but probably nonsense! Whatever, mild exercise isn’t good to be bad.
I had a mild reaction too, so was just wondering if there was any correlation between the level of reaction and antibody response. It appears nothing to worry about there then, which is excellent.
Can I ask how did you get the antibody test? It would be good if we could all find out how strong our immune system is to Covid.
I had the first Oxford vaccine just over two weeks ago and had nearly every side effect, it took me about a week to fully recover, I also had to have antibiotics as the reaction in my arm was bad. It also dropped my WBC dramatically but I’ve since been checked and it’s back to within my normal range.
I must admit I am hearing that a few people are having stronger reactions with the second vaccine, feeling a little nervous about it but will still get it done though. I guess I’ll be aware of what might happen!
Hi beckyluck.What actually do you mean when you say you had a 'reation' with your arm? I only ask because 10 days post vaccine my arm is still tender at the injection site especially when I lift my arm above my head. The day after the vaccine I felt exhausted most of the day and muscles ached a bit but fine after that but the tenderness in my arm persists. I would be interested to hear if anyone still as any problems post vaccine. Tina.x🤗 P.S. I had the Oxford vaccination.
The day after the vaccine it was generally tender as you’d expect from any vaccine, however two days after I had a very red patch around 10cm in diameter which was very warm to touch, my arm also looked swollen, I could hardly lift my arm, it was very painful to touch and generally ached, I also felt that my arm was weaker and tingly. My GP put me on a 7 day course of antibiotics which did help get rid of most side effects but my arm didn’t actually feel better until this Monday so 2 weeks after.
No I haven't spoken to my Gp, I was just wondering how long it would last. I've spoken to a few people I know who had the Oxford one and the tenderness only lasted a day or 2. Maybe it was the way it was injected as I know some giving the vaccination were newly trained. I had my vaccine at a church,next door to my Daughters local pharmacy and my son-in-law who took me there told me the one who gave me my vaccination was a pharmacy assistant. I'm sure it will soon settle down. Tina.x🤗
This test is for Vaccine antibodies and not to be confused with Covid antibody tests post infection
This article explains the result from the Roche Anti-SARS-CoV-2 (S) test to give Testing For All users a better understanding of how this diagnostic test works. The aim of this product is to help the Testing For All community to understand their immune response, and hence their immunity status to COVID-19. For those that wish to, this test can also be used to monitor your immune response over time as the test provides a calibrated result in U/mL that will change as your IgG antibody level builds and then wanes over an extended period of time.
The body has a range of ways to fight off infection, but the scientific community has centred the development of vaccines for COVID on triggering the creation of antibodies to the spike protein of coronavirus. These “spikes” are what gives coronaviruses their name, and it is through this spike mechanism that the virus binds to healthy human cells in order to replicate itself. A natural infection creates a wide ranged defence, often involving a T cell response to destroy human cells infected by SARS-SoV-2 to stop virus from replicating, and by the creation of a range of antibodies to different proteins in the virus that attempt to deactivate it before it can bind to host cells. The original COVID-19 Home Total Antibody Test we launched in Sept 2020 detects antibodies to the Nucleocapsid protein “shell” of the coronavirus, and is useful for detecting previous exposure to the virus, which has provided many people with an understanding of whether past or ongoing symptoms that they experienced were related to a coronavirus infection that occurred before PCR testing was widely available.
We are pleased to offer this new COVID-19 Immunity Test as it provides an accurate calibrated measurement of antibodies to the spike protein, and is therefore considered to be a good view of your immune response and status. In the testing that we have carried out with our laboratory partner, we have compared the result of the both the Roche N and S test tests on positive blood samples and see very good agreement so if you tested positive on our COVID-19 Home Total Antibody Test then you will very likely test positive on the COVID-19 Immunity Test. The difference between the two tests is that they are looking at different viral protein targets, and that the Immunity Test gives you an actual calibrated level.
Protection created by vaccination
One of the primary uses cases for this test is to check that your immune system has responded correctly to the vaccine and produced antibodies in the nominal range.
The two main vaccines available in the UK, Pfizer/BioNTech and AstraZeneca, both aim to create IgG antibodies to the spike protein of this coronavirus. The level of antibodies created by your body following the vaccine is measured using this test. The primary way the effectiveness of a vaccine is assessed is through its “efficacy.” This can be explained by imagining that 100 people are ill with COVID. “90% efficacy” means if only they’d had the vaccine, on average only 10 would have got ill. Vaccine efficacy is the relative reduction in the risk: whatever your risk was before, it is reduced by 90% if you get vaccinated. There is a lot of confusion about this number: it does not mean there is a 10% chance of getting Covid-19 if vaccinated – that chance will be massively lower than 10%. Researchers estimate efficacy by comparing numbers of new cases in vaccinated and unvaccinated people through a randomised trial. In addition, public health bodies around the world are monitoring “real-world” efficacy by monitoring those that have been vaccinated.
At this time we have a limited dataset, and will publish more data as it becomes available.
This is a misunderstanding. I feel I have to step in here in defence of Paul123456, he was simply responding to ‘Beckylucks’ request of where to get the test. If you read back you will see this is clear.
His original post did not suggest any hidden agenda whatsoever, only valuable information for anyone receiving the Oxford vaccine. I for one found this revelation comforting.
I, and I am sure others’ really value ‘Paul’s’ informative and knowledgeable posts, he regularly updates us on the latest MPN news, which is always obtained from highly reliable sources.
I have no agenda here and certainly no financial interest.
I did the test to reassure my family that they don’t have to be quite so careful in future. eg my wife is now stopping to pick up a coffee on her morning walk.
I thought it would reassure others here that the Oxford vaccine is working - I’m 65 and very low T cells/Lymphocytes. And that I had decent antibodies at 20 days and we are told 22 days for ‘full’ protection
I think this is exactly what I am looking for! I had planned to leave it until after my second dose. I am 71 with very low total white cell count and with low neutrophils I already took some of the precautions recommended during the covid outbreak. I think it might be very difficult to separate me from my mask if I don’t have some sort of proof that I have some immunity to covid. I think my family worry even more than I do so it would reassure them as you say. Do you mind telling us what your connection with Testingforall actually is? Thank you for letting us know that this test exists and it will be up to us each as individuals to decide whether or not to take that route. Regards, Jan
Brilliant read Paul, thanks for that. I had the AstraZeneca jab on 31st Jan as unable to have Pfizer due to many allergies, all went well, but the next day felt as if I had been hit by a bus, I could hardly get out of bed, but I did, made myself do some exercise which helped, but for a good 48 hours I felt as if I had flu, and my headache was awful, and a very sore arm, which I get with the flu jab anyway so expected that, after the 48 hours I was back to normal well as normal as I can be 🤪 and now cannot wait for the next jab so that I can get my life back so for me it’s bring it on.Jean
a little unrelated - but I find it amazing that after a year people have not bought their own coffee makers and milk frothers and still want to get take out coffee! Much better blends available than in the chain coffee shops and the comfort of enjoying a really good coffee at home!😍
I've got a coffee maker and milk frother but when going on hospital visits I just can't resist my take out coffee and its exactly the same brand 'Costa'. ☕ Tina.🤗
I've clicked on the link, out of curiosity, and, having been vaccinated, I feel it would be a bit of a waste of time to take the test because I doubt I have been exposed, and even if the test shows you have antibodies, it doesn't mean you are immune to COVID. We don't know enough yet.
PaulThats a very helpful post re testing to see how well the vaccine has worked, I dont know if its the best test to have yet but your post has some useful info in there for us all. I cant see anyone can possibly perceive you might be trying to promote the test or trying to get people to buy it, why would you. Reality is that apart from NHS tests (which we are not being offered yet) there are no free tests out there, ie we have to buy them for now.
I am hoping that soonish our leading haems might advise us on such a test for us shielding to check how well the vaccine has worked for us but until then I might just get that test, after all Roche is a reputable lab.
I confirm I have no interest in or connection with anyone at TFA. My wife sourced it and I posted without knowing who. My wife has no interest either!
I intend to do another test about a month later to see if antibodies significantly higher. My wife said that the site it compiling data so be interesting to find out if my 2.1 (or whatever is is next time) is above or below par.
As others have said, this maybe of limited real life value but my layman’s interpretation is that the higher my antibodies, the better my ability to fight off severe disease.
Thanks very much for this information Paul. The information contained gives us all OPTIONS and we all know with options you can choose to go down that route or not. I see it as a very positive post I would certainly go down that route to find out except I haven’t been given the vaccine yet! Thanks. Bruddery
This article explains why I’m so keen to check my antibodies but I am unusual here in that very low lymphocytes and therefore T cells/B cells. However good immunoglobulins.
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