Has the vaccine worked?

[skipperL]

I had both Pfizer vaccines at the beginning of the year. I asked for an antibody test and was told it was negative. Does that mean the jabs didn’t work, or have they worn off? I have been shielding as I have Myelofibrosis and am 82 - what now?

SkipperL

[Dan73]

Mine was negative also but on the lab report it said that people who were vaccinated would test negative. It seems that some of the antibody tests check for antibodies that are only produced in response to Covid infections. By the way, I had the Moderna vaccine.

[skipperL in reply to Dan73]

Thank you Dan - I shall investigate to find out what type of antibody test I had.

[cmc_ufl]

Highly dependent on what vaccine you had and what antibody test you had. Different vaccines produce different antibodies, and different antibody tests look for different antibodies. It is possible for someone who got the vaccine, and who is immune, to test negative on an antibody test.

[skipperL in reply to cmc_ufl]

Thank you - I shall investigate further -

[Barbara140]

Hi, my husband and I both received the Pfizer jab on 13 January, then 6 weeks later (as part of the ONS Covid study) we had antibody tests. Mine was negative but my husband's was positive, so clearly the test does look for post vax antibodies. He's a few years younger than me. I'm 70 and treated with Ruxolitinib for post ET MF. Last week I did a home test as part of the UK Biobank study; this was just a few days after my 2nd jab. The pink line was barely visible but the instructions said that I should report it as positive. We're due for another ONS test so I'm mildly hopeful.

[skipperL in reply to Barbara140]

Thank you - it seems very confusing - and not very satisfactory. I am trying to find out which test I had

[Dovme]

This article seems to provide a summary of the issues re antibody testing

mdanderson.org/cancerwise/w...

It appears to be very difficult to always determine from the tests themselves

[Ovingite in reply to Dovme]

Thanks for posting this. Very informative and from an authoritative source. Answers a lot of people's questionsStay safe

John

[skipperL in reply to Dovme]

Very informative - thank youSkipperL

[azaelea in reply to Dovme]

Thank you for posting this article. It has been very helpful for me. Fran

[Island-Lady in reply to Dovme]

Thank you so much for posting this. I have learned so much from this site!