Thyrocare launches Covid-19 antibody test

As citizens continue to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic, leading diagnostic chain Thyrocare, has announced the availability of its ‘Covid Antibody Test'.

It is not a diagnostic test but one that is used for sero-surveillance to understand whether a person has encountered the infection in the recent past.

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The test kits and procedures have been approved by ICMR and Thyrocare has made the test available across India in all cities.

The test identifies if a person has had the novel coronavirus at some point in the past and has produced the antibodies to fight it. Thyrocare has made the tests widely available and has begun collecting the blood samples from people's homes.

The test does not require fasting or any other precautionary measures to be followed.

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"These tests are primarily done to check whether your immune system, your body’s defense against illness has responded to the infection or not. It is done as sero-surveillance, which is a reference to understand the spread of infection in the community by looking for antibody generation in an exposed individual. This test is not for diagnostic purposes.

When someone is infected with the Covid-19 virus, the body’s immune system produces antibodies to fight the infection. This test lets you know if you have contracted the virus and have antibodies to fight it or you haven’t contracted the virus yet," a Thyrocare press statement said. Globally, the antibody tests have been heralded as a crucial weapon in the battle against the Covid-19 pandemic.

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This test will help us understand what percentage of our population has been exposed to the virus and developed antibodies to fight the virus. Thyrocare does the Covid Antibody IgG using ELISA technology and Covid Antibody Total using fully automated CLIA technology.

A person can choose to do either of the tests or both the tests. The antibody testing is priced at Rs 600 to make it accessible to masses.

“The antibody tests will equip us with data and information regarding the immunity levels of citizens in our country. We have conducted about 10,000 tests in cities where the virus is spreading rapidly in the last week out of which 6.8% of people have tested positive for the antibody tests," Dr. A. Velumani, Founder and CEO, Thyrocare Technologies said.

"If your antibody test is positive, it goes on to prove that your immune system is excellent and gives you raised immunoglobulins,” he added.