More than 45 million [1] people in the UK have completed the vaccination schedule against COVID-19, but how many of them have developed or still have neutralising antibodies against the virus after being vaccinated?
Given the importance of this information, Viatris markets COVID-19 NEUTRALISING IgG SEROLOGICAL SELF-TEST in the UK, a self-test manufactured by PRIMA® Lab SA, that allows checking of the presence in the body of neutralising antibodies after vaccination and has a recommended retail price that is under £20.
The self-test can be performed at home from a small blood sample and that, in just 10 minutes, shows the results.
After two doses of the available vaccination, the self-test has shown to measure a seroconversion rate of 98.3% for the Pfizer vaccine, 98.5% for the AstraZeneca vaccine and 95.2% for the Moderna vaccine. [2] It is recommended that the test is performed at least 14 days after completing the vaccination cycle.
Viatris UK Country Manager, Matt Salzmann commented: “In these uncertain times, and with the long-term protection offered by vaccines currently unknown, even those who are fully immunised may wish to seek extra reassurance.
“As recent studies suggest, vaccines may lose their full effectiveness against COVID infection [3] so taking the necessary precautionary measures is imperative. That is why Viatris decided to respond to this important medical need by making available a revolutionary self-test kit.”
Neutralising antibodies are those that block the binding site between the virus and the host cell receptor of our body. The presence of these antibodies indicates that a person has had an immune response to the COVID-19 vaccine. The test does not indicate that protective immunity has been acquired.
This qualitative self-test measures whether the body has generated antibodies at the level of 50 BAU/mL, a threshold calculated with the first internationally recognised standard. If the result is above this figure, it will be positive, while if it is below it, it will appear as negative.
Matt added: “At a time when a large part of the UK population is vaccinated, we consider it very important that we provide access to a convenient self-test for people who wish to know their antibody status, especially those who are at risk.