Dr. Siegel: Antibody tests are the future
Dr. Marc Siegel explains how an antibody test works and why it’s a good marker to use for vaccines
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Antibody tests are the future of coronavirus treatment, Fox News medical contributor Dr. Marc Siegel said Wednesday.
Appearing on "Fox & Friends" with hosts Steve Doocy, Ainsley Earhardt, and Brian Kilmeade, Siegel said that he believes U.S. health workers are "entering [into] a new arena" with that kind of testing.
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"Seven to 10 days after you get infected, approximately, you start to make antibodies to this virus," he explained. "The first antibody is called an IGM. The next one is called an IGG: that's Immunoglobulins, antibodies."
Harkening back to a previous interview with Admiral Brett Giroir, Siegel pointed out that he had said antibody tests needed to be standardized and that people are not "claiming they can do something they can't."
"But, the New York state test is excellent and Mayo Clinic has one too coming out that's excellent," Siegel remarked.
Dr. Deborah Birx, White House coronavirus response coordinator, speaks about the coronavirus in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House. Birx said the government is classifying the deaths of those infected with the virus who also had underlying health conditions as COVID-19 deaths. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
The Empire State's Governor Andrew Cuomo told reporters at his daily news briefing on Tuesday that the State Department of Health had developed an antibody testing regiment and that they would be working with the FDA to quickly bring it to scale.
“You have 19 million people in the state of New York, just think of how many people you would need to be able to test and test quickly," he noted.
According to AM New York, per a pact with New Jersey and Connecticut, the Cuomo administration’s goal is to deploy not only the antibody testing but 15-minute testing across the region.
In addition, the White House task force has warned Americans against purchasing unreliable coronavirus antibody tests circulating online.
“Some of the tests that may be available could give you a false reassurance, a false positive or negative, so please wait until those tests are available and validated,” response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx urged.
"But, what do I mean by excellent?" Siegel asked. "I mean, they can tell you whether you have been exposed to the virus, whether you've had an infection of the virus, and whether you are recovering from the virus.
"Whether that means you are immune to the virus is not yet known," Siegel added. "But, certainly, we now will be able to tell -- looking back, you had it, you are exposed to it, now you are recovering, now you can go back to work...There is no question about that.
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"And, in addition, it's a marker we can use for whether a vaccine works down the line," he stated further. "In other words: can we generate those same antibodies using a vaccine?
"That is going to be the future," Siegel concluded.
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