A patient having blood drawn for a Covid-19 antibody test. Photo credit: Pier Marco Tacca, Getty Images.
Alphabet’s life sciences arm, Verily, is launching a new study to better understand the immune response to Covid-19. The study, called Baseline Antibody Research, will offer serology testing to people who have already received a Covid-19 nasal swab test.
In March, Google’s sister company began screening for potential Covid-19 cases and connecting people to nearby testing sites. The project was initially limited to San Francisco, but has since been expanded to more locations in California and 12 additional states through a partnership with Rite Aid.
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With this new study, Verily will focus on antibody testing. The information could be useful in gleaning important information about immunity and helping track whether previous tests were effective in detecting the virus.
“Coronavirus antibodies have emerged as a key research area because they can help answer important scientific and public health questions. These include whether the presence of antibodies predict a long-lasting immunity to reinfection, and which antibodies are correlated with protection,” Verily wrote in a blog post. “Along with the promise they hold for developing better treatments and vaccines, antibodies can shed light on the historical spread of the virus and levels of immunity in the population today.”
Of course, antibody testing isn’t a perfect mechanism for tracking the disease. While previous studies have attempted to guess at what percentage of population have been infected, concerns about the accuracy of antibody tests have thrown those results into question. Two widely shared preprints from studies in Santa Clara and LA County used a serology test that could have a false-positive rate of up to 1.7%, which critics say would negate many of the positive cases identified by the study.
Verily said it plans to use multiple antibody tests for the study.
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“While this is not a study meant to do head to head comparisons of antibody tests, we will be evaluating various tests in this study as different kits pick up different antigens,” the company wrote in an emailed statement.
Verily also said it would open more opportunities for people to participate in its research, including surveys on mental health, lifestyle, and other topics that might help researchers better understand the changes created by Covid-19. A previous test result would not be required to participate in this research.
Update: This article has been updated with comments from Verily. It has also been clarified to reflect that people who wish to participate in the antibody research do need to have a previous Covid-19 test result, but it does not have to be through Verily.