Yorkshire firm launches a new device that can measure a person's immunity levels to Covid-19

Abingdon's York laboratory has been at the forefront of Covid testing

The York-based firm said the new accessory will measure the strength of a person's immune response, showing the level of antibodies they have as a result of vaccination or natural infection.

The new device provides a visual colour scale and the stronger the line on the score-card, the higher the level of antibodies in a scale from 0 to 10.

This will allow people to see the level of their antibodies and also, over time, to see if this diminishes. This would provide a good indicator as to whether a patient should be prioritised for vaccines or booster jabs if their antibody levels have dropped significantly.

The Government and its scientific advisers are currently debating whether people who had their vaccines very early this year should be given a booster jab in the autumn.

One of the difficulties is that people have different antibody levels and this test could provide a simple 0 to 10 gauge to show their level of immunity.

The new test will use a finger-prick blood sample with higher levels of antibodies producing a stronger test line.

Abingdon said the use of the score-card accessory alongside its AbC-19 lateral flow device test will allow scientific communities to further understand the presence and strength of IgG neutralising antibodies following infection or vaccination.

Abingdon is preparing the CE-marking of the scorecard accessory for the AbC-19 LFD and ultimately, when the scientific community determines the level of antibodies which infer immunity, has the potential to add a "cut-off" to the score-card.

Recent research has shown that immuno-compromised people generate lower levels of antibodies compared with healthier people following two vaccine doses.

There are also variations in the vaccine-response between men and women.

A study published on August 30 highlighted different responses in patient cohorts when comparing the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines, with one study noting antibody levels start to reduce at around two to three months.

Chris Yates, chief executive at Abingdon Health, said: “The launch of the semi-quantitative accessory to AbC-19 is an important addition to the tools available to researchers as they qualify and measure the antibody level appropriate to infer protective immunity.

"There is a lot of work underway internationally to set a globally recognised standard threshold and we welcome the establishment of an international standard that will help governments manage their vaccine and booster programmes.

"Devices such as the AbC-19 help democratise testing and allow individuals to know their own neutralising antibody status, assess their own risk, and seek appropriate advice when indicated.”