COVID-19 antibody tests provide insights into risk of hospitalisation and death

New research, led by Imperial College London, has shown that lateral flow antibody tests could play a role in understanding population and individual level risk following COVID-19 vaccination. The research, published this week in Nature Communications, forms part of Imperial’s REACT study, which measured the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in England using rapid tests administered by participants at home. The study, and multiple other studies published in 2021 as part of the REACT-2 programme, was co-authored by Community Jameel advisory committee chair Lord Ara Darzi.

These finger-prick tests detect antibodies to the virus that causes COVID-19 following infection or vaccination. Professor Helen Ward, one of the senior authors of the study from Imperial’s School of Public Health and a member of the Jameel Institute, said: 'This simple COVID antibody test may help understand who may be at higher risk of poor health outcomes in the subsequent 6 to 9 months'.