Antibody blood tests can tell you if you've been recently infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus — but there's plenty they can't tell you.
So I went to my GP, who referred me for a blood test.PCR tests and RATs can tell you if you're currently infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, but only a blood test can tell you if you've been infected in the past.
Your immune system makes a whole raft of antibodies in response to a vaccine — and more when you're infected. It's a different story for people who have been vaccinated with, say, China's Sinovac or Sinopharm vaccines, says Dorothy Machalek, a senior research fellow and epidemiologist at the Kirby Institute who coordinates blood surveys to track SARS-CoV-2 infection in Australia.
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