Questions About Coronavirus

It’s no secret that the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes the disease known as COVID-19 has impacted everyone’s life, and many questions still loom for Utahns about the pandemic. The two questions we hear the most are:

• How likely am I to get the coronavirus?
• How do I know if I have or previously had the coronavirus?

Although the answers to both of those questions depend on many factors, such as age, general health status, and social contact, a more complete picture occurs if you get tested for coronavirus antibodies. Olympus Health & Performance now offers coronavirus antibody testing, which is available to the general public and can be administered by one of our nurses in your own home or business.

How Likely Am I To Get The Coronavirus?

It depends. Older people and people with chronic diseases or immune abnormalities seem to be most susceptible to the coronavirus. In addition, like most other viruses, if antibodies from previous exposure to the coronavirus are detected in your blood, you have probably developed a stronger defense to the virus within your immune system. Although we’re still learning about how the immune system responds to the coronavirus, typically once you have antibodies for a specific strain of a disease, it’s more difficult to get that disease again because your immune system is better equipped to recognize the disease and fight if it enters your body again.

On the other hand, if you are tested and we detect no coronavirus antibodies in your blood, it means you are more susceptible to getting ill from the coronavirus, and you should continue to follow all CDC and local government recommendations for minimizing your exposure to the virus.

How Do I Know If I Have Or Previously Had The Coronavirus?

Antibodies are developed by your immune system when it comes into contact with pathogens like the coronavirus. We use a COVID-19 IgG/IgM Rapid Test to detect these antibodies, which will help you know if you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus.

This new test only identifies whether you’ve developed the antibodies for the disease; it is not a test to see if you currently carry the virus or have COVID-19. After infection, most, though not all, patients will have antibodies.  Probably 90% will, though this number is less in patients with immunosuppression. After vaccination, >95% of patients will have antibodies, though this number is probably only 50% in patients with immunosuppression, like organ transplants. The positivity of antibodies in patients with either natural infection will go down over time, though not really quickly.  Probably 90% of those who developed antibodies initially will still have antibodies by 6 months.

Looking for COVID-19 testing to find out if you currently carry the virus? We offer that too. Visit our COVID-19 PCR Testing and COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Testing pages to learn more. If you’ve been exposed to or are infected by the coronavirus but have not yet developed antibodies, this test may not be able to identify your exposure until more time has passed. In some cases, a new test may be needed to confirm exposure to the disease.