The government has finally approved antibody tests for Covid-19 to measure the effectiveness of vaccines as the country is set to launch the nationwide inoculation drive in a few days.
Officials of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said a plan had been set for testing the immunity of a group of people vaccinated during the dry run to find out how much antibody they had developed.
Prof Khurshid Alam, director general of the DGHS, recently told reporters at a briefing that the authorities would likely operate group-based antibody tests across the country after completing the first phase of vaccination following the suggestion of the National Technical Advisory Committee (NTAC).
The NTAC had earlier recommended the government allow antibody tests.
“Antibody tests will help assess the effectiveness of the vaccine,” said Prof Nazrul Islam, member of NTAC in Covid-19 and also former vice-chancellor of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU).
“After a vaccine jab is given, immunity should begin to develop. It can be identified by doing the antibody test,” he said, adding: “Many people might not develop immunity against Covid-19 if they have other diseases,” which means they would still be vulnerable to the disease.
This antibody test will also help find asymptomatic Covid-19 carriers as they will carry the antibodies.
Why approve now?
An antibody test, which is used to check if there are any antibodies in the blood to determine if the person has had a past infection with the virus that causes Covid-19, is an easy option since this test can be done on a massive scale and the result can come back in hours.
However, as the sensitivity of the rapid test kit is high, chances of false reports, like false negatives or positives, are also very high. This is why the government did not allow antibody tests earlier, especially for individuals.
“An antibody test is an easy way to get results immediately regarding your body’s immunity to a particular disease,” said Dr Mustak Hossain, adviser at the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR).
“Any organization can now use the antibody test to assess the Covid-19 situation among a particular community, which was only possible for a research organization earlier. For example, if Dhaka University wants to conduct a rapid test among students after reopening to know about the Covid-19 situation before vaccinating, its authorities can go for a cluster-based antibody test. Similarly, an assessment can be done after the vaccination to know about the immunity of the students,” said Dr Mustak, a renowned scientist.
So, rather than identifying Covid-19 individually, antibody tests would be more applicable for a community to know of the Covid-19 situation, he explained.
Antibody tests were allowed only for laboratories or for research firms earlier and there was a ban on importing kits privately. However, on January 24, Health Minister Zahid Maleque announced that private companies could also import antibody test kits.
When will the tests begin?
Following a green signal from the government, the DGHS is now finalizing the process for private and public organizations – including hospitals and diagnostics centres – to submit applications to conduct antibody tests.
“As the government has already approved the antibody tests, a meeting in this regard will clear the application process for getting the permission,” said Dr Nasima Sultana, additional director general of the DGHS.
“Once given the final approval, private hospitals or organizations will follow a protocol set by the DGHS for each of them,” she told Dhaka Tribune.