We now offer COVID-19 at our location.
What Is an Antibody Test?
An antibody test is a screening for things called antibodies in your blood. Your body makes these when it fights an infection, like COVID-19. The same thing happens when you get a vaccine, like a flu shot. That’s how you build immunity to a virus. You may also hear it called a serology test. The antibody test isn’t checking for the virus itself. Instead, it looks to see whether your immune system — your body’s defense against illness — has responded to the infection.
How Does an Antibody Test Work?
A technician will take a bit of your blood, like through a finger prick. The test looks for one or both kinds of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19:
• IgM antibodies, which happen early in an infection
• IgG antibodies, which are more likely to show up later
Most people have IgG antibodies about 14 days after symptoms start. They usually stay in your blood long after the infection goes away, but we don’t know how long that is for the new coronavirus.