With Covid-19 vaccination rates in Ontario steadily increasing over the past month, you need to know what antibodies are, how they work and how they are tested.
How Antibodies Work
Antibodies are the immune system’s magnifying glass. They search for foreign intruders in the body and identify them to the immune system to destroy. What makes antibodies so effective is their Y-shape. The two arms at the tip allow the antibodies to latch on to and bind to the intruder. The stalk portion connects and binds to other compounds in the immune system.
Where Antibodies Come From
Antibodies come from B-cells, a type of white blood cell that forms in the foetal liver continuing to the bone marrow. There are a trillion unique B-cells in your body! As B-cells grow in size, they start to divide, referred to as “clonal expansion” creating identical copies. After just one week, this division can reach hundreds of thousands to a million copies. After some time, these cells transform into “plasma cells” which are essentially antibody manufacturers, releasing up to 10 000 antibodies per second!
How Antibodies Are Tested
Antibodies get tested from a blood sample. Don’t worry it’s not a vile of blood, just a little prick on your fingertip! It usually takes between 1-3 weeks after infection OR vaccination for your body to produce antibodies.
How We Can Help
canaPHEM has recently begun offering Covid-19 Rapid Antibody Testing at our Whitby office. Our tests are Health Canada approved, administered by Ontario-certified Medics, and give you accurate results in just 15-20 minutes! You don’t have to worry about breaking the bank either. With local competitors charging up to $75 with 24-48 hr. wait times, you pay a ⅓ of the price ($26) in a fraction of the time.
Contact Us!
If you are interested in our Covid-19 Antibody Rapid Testing, give us a call! You can reach us at 905 493 7436 or email [email protected] to book your appointment.
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