Saw a webinar in which it was suggested that a fairly small study showed people taking tocilizumab, mycophenelate, predisilone or methatrixate might only be covered 35-55% for the Covid vaccine. I am taking three of these. It recommended an antibody test - it was the SARS COVID anti spike test I think. So - today I have had this test at my GP surgery and am wondering what my result might be. Has anyone else taken the test. I understand that if it does say you have NOT got antibodies that does not necessarily mean you may not be covered as T cells come into play but if you get a good result it does give reassurance especially at a time when we are being told we can at last give family a hug. I have not been on the site for a while so best wishes to everyone.
Had anyone had the Covid antibody test? - PMRGCAuk
Had anyone had the Covid antibody test?
There are related posts to similar question, might be worth looking at...
Thanks. I did have a look but I was lucky and did not have to pay for mine. Requested via my GP free.
Have a look at the Related Posts - on a computer they are to the right of my screen but no idea where they are on a phone.
My husband and I both had an antibody test, also via UKBiobank, and both showed antibodies ( see my previous post). I am on Tocilizumab weekly injections only. However, the bumf that came with the test kit does say that 2/3 of vaccinated people do NOT show a positive result but that did not mean you don’t have any antibodies, just that the levels produced by vaccination are lower than by actually having Covid19 itself and might just be too low to show up on that particular test (plus you will probably still produce T cells).
I have had friends (who don’t have auto immune conditions) mail me, worried about their negative test results and I have pointed them to read the test leaflet for reassurance. It’s a pity that this isn’t pointed out more prominently by kit producers.
There are a lot of things that need to be pointed out rather more clearly ...
To be fair it was pretty clear on the UK Biobank information if one read it!
Do they also tell people it doesn't guarantee you won't get Covid if you meet it?
Yes they said exactly that. They specifically said that if your test was negative it did not mean that your vaccine wasn’t working. They also specifically said that if your test was positive you should not change your behaviour as a result. They also explained that the experiment’s primary purpose was not to measure people’s antibody levels after vaccination but rather to find post Covid infection ones. There was a really good FAQ section. There was also a very good explainer video on YouTube presented by one of the professors (sorry I can’t remember her name now). It’s a serious study which has been going on for 15 or so years and they are always very careful in the information they give out when asking you if you’re willing to do whatever it is they’re studying at any given time. But obviously people need to read the information or listen to the video or both...
I was meaning much more generally about the vaccine and what it can or can't guarantee. That it is only a part of getting back to normal ...
Well, yes, in the sense they said no-one should change their behaviour because of having had the vaccine or their test results. Given it wasn’t actually primarily a study about antibodies following vaccination I think that’s probably as much as they said (from memory anyway).
I was meaning REALLY general - media and press conferneces and the rest of it. What they were saying was correct - but they didn't understand that Joe Public would only take "I'm safe now" from the message. Encouraged by the red tops andthis incessant desire to "have fun" and "go on holiday" ...
I do understand what you’re getting at but this was simply information provided to people who have been recruited into the UK Biobank study many years ago which is not a specific Covid study so (unlike e.g. the Zoe or the Covidence studies) I don’t think there were any general press releases. The study hasn’t been completed as far as I know and no results/papers published. They were just giving people information following their reporting the results of their individual tests - they probably wish they hadn’t bothered!
And yes, well, we know who is encouraging the red tops don’t we...
And who they are encouraging ...
Mine was 320U/ml but I have no idea what that level means in terms of effectiveness
Whilst at the GP yesterday for something unrelated I asked about the antibody spike test. I was told the NHS no longer offer the service. I’ve ordered a private test; had to provide certain details to an on-line doctor for authorisation but was approved within minutes. Like you I have no idea about the U’s/ml. I think a branding system would be more useful, eg v-low, low, average, high, would be more useful for Joe-public.
I had no problem getting it free via my GP but I am in clinically vulnerable group.
How long since the test being approved? My GP said 8mg is a low dose and you should have developed ‘some’ A/Bs. It’s the ‘some’ bit I worry about, especially now B1712 is taking off in the U.K., with R>1 apparently. De-masking school kids was a bad idea.
My GP told me they weren’t allowed to do them so I had one at monitormyhealth.org.ukI found them through an NHS link. You can do a general test or split out the vaccination and the illness. Mine came back positive for the vaccine. The problem that I can see is that there is no quantifiable test for the vaccine yet. So the result is more or less meaningless and still means you should mask etc. AstraZenaca are developing a test that would give a measure for the vaccine but it’s not available to the general public yet.
Hi! I take 10g of Methotrexate weekly plus 2.5mg Prednisone for PMR and .5mg of Entecavir for Heb B (in remission) daily. I tested positive for antibodies on March 30, 2021 after a mild case of Covid on March 5 (stuffy nose and loss of taste & smell for 3 weeks). My rheumatologist strongly recommended still getting the vaccine even though I have the antibodies. So finally I got my first shot on May 26 (Moderna) with some increased body aches on May 28 (ibuprofen helped that) and a sore arm. I was leary to get the vaccine because of adding aches to myself. I hope the 2nd shot will be like the first. Now Im thinking maybe by having the antibodies, the vaccine will make me more protective against Covid in the future. 🙏🏻
You do mean 10mg mtx per WEEK, not daily?
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