Doctors from the Immunology section of the Central Laboratory and the Allergology Service of the Hospital Universitario de Canarias (HUC) have adapted a classic test that was used for tuberculosis, the Covid, thus obtaining a test that allows knowing in a few hours which is our cellular immunity against COVID-19.
What does the test consist of?
It is apcutaneous, superficial, similar to the skin tests commonly used by allergy physicians. Starting six hours after taking the test, we would see the ability of specific white blood cells, called T lymphocytes, to initiate an inflammatory response. In this way we would know if we have immunity cell against SARS-Cov-2.
What is cellular immunity?
When we are vaccinated or pass the Covid, we generate antibodies that protect us from some proteins that the virus uses as a key to enter our cells. Most vaccines focus on the Spike (S) protein. This test detects if our cells have generated immunity to this protein.
More effective than the antibody test
It is more reliable than antibody tests because, although some studies indicate that antibody levels drop six months after the vaccine, this is not the case with cellular immunity, which stays longer. With this test we can know in a few hours if we need a third dose of booster vaccine, or not.
A pioneering test
Is about a quick and low test Therefore, it can be used to carry it out on a large scale in residences for the elderly or in less developed countries. It is a simple test that was previously used for tuberculosis, the well-known tuberculin test, and has been adapted in a pioneering way to covid by doctors from the Hospital Universitario de Canarias.
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