Name: New test tells you how many T cells against COVID-19 you have
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New test tells you how many T cells against COVID-19 you have

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By A that measures a key indicator of COVID-19 immunity could help you determine your risk of contracting the coronavirus and whether to get a booster shot.The challenge: Since the start of the pandemic, individuals have had to constantly weigh the against the benefits of doing, well, practically anything: , , going to the , flying on an …Getting lowers the risk (at least temporarily), as does and recovering. But determining just how protected you are at any given time is still largely a guessing game, as alone .Why it matters: This uncertainty can add stress to daily life, potentially leading some people to get sick because they underestimated their risk — while others overestimate their risk and miss out on important events.It also makes it hard to know when to get a booster shot.&nbsp;“Monitoring both [antibodies and T cells] will give us a much clearer picture [of immunity].”Ernesto GuccioneThe test: Researchers at Mount Sinai and Duke-NUS Medical School have now developed a that looks at instead of antibodies as an indicator of COVID-19 immunity.After a patient’s blood sample is collected, it’s mixed with an assay containing bits of coronavirus proteins. If there are any T cells specific to the virus in the sample, this will activate them. Measuring that activation can help determine a patient’s COVID-19 immunity.“Monitoring both [antibodies and T cells] will give us a much clearer picture [of immunity] and will hopefully inform our re-vaccination strategies,” study co-author Ernesto Guccione .An upgrade: This isn’t the first test to look at T cells for COVID-19 immunity — the FDA approved a test for emergency use in March 2021 — but this new test has several advantages.Most importantly, T-Detect only gives you a yes/no answer about whether you have T cells that react to COVID-19. But the new test can tell you the level of T cell immunity — which is potentially an indicator of how protected you are.There are practical benefits, too: while T-Detect takes for results, the new blood test can be done in as little as 24 hours. It’s less work to run and costs about $50 compared to T-Detect’s $150 (though the final price may be marked up by labs).These upgrades could make it easier to understand what’s going on with COVID-19 immunity in the whole population — how many people are immune, how long does protection last, who needs a booster and when.“With large numbers comes clarity,” Guccione said. “That’s the hope: by using this test, we can finally get those numbers that were totally unavailable with the previous technology.”The bottom line: The new blood test is already cleared for use in Europe, but the FDA hasn’t yet authorized its use in the US.&nbsp;“To look at the degree of intensity of T cell immunity and have that correlated with protection — we’re not at that level yet.”Jordi OchandoWhen it is authorized, it’ll be able to measure your T cell response to COVID-19, which could help you assess your infection risk, but don’t expect it to tell you exactly how protected you are against the coronavirus — at least not initially.“To look at the degree of intensity of T cell immunity and have that correlated with protection — we’re not at that level yet,” study co-author Jordi Ochando . “But we hope to be at some point.”So we’ll need to wait to know precisely how to interpret the results of the test. But one benefit of a cheap, fast T cell test is that scientists could finally get enough data to understand how T cells correlate with immunity from infection or serious illness.We’d love to hear from you! If you have a comment about this article or if you have a tip for a future Freethink story, please email us at . Fields Share RelatedUp NextHong Kong researchers have developed a handheld COVID antibody testing device more capable than current home tests. to Freethink for more great stories&nbsp; Notice: JavaScript is required for this content. Challenges Video Freethink Subscribe We focus on solutions: the smartest people, the biggest ideas, and the most ground breaking technology shaping our future.

By A that measures a key indicator of COVID-19 immunity could help you determine your risk of contracting the coronavirus and whether to get a booster shot.The challenge: Since the start of the pandemic, individuals have had to constantly weigh the against the benefits of doing, well, practically anything: , , going to the , flying on an …Getting lowers the risk (at least temporarily), as does and recovering. But determining just how protected you are at any given time is still largely a guessing game, as alone .Why it matters: This uncertainty can add stress to daily life, potentially...

New test tells you how many T cells against COVID-19 you have

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