The simple test allows individuals to safely, quickly, and effectively obtain real-time measurements of their current COVID-19 immunity profiles with minimal pain and inconvenience

blood test

Ethos Laboratories Launches Fingerstick Blood Collection Kit for Tru-Immune Covid-19 Immunity Test. (Credit: Belova59 from Pixabay)

Ethos Laboratories, a College of American Pathologists-accredited and a certified leader in diagnostic testing services, announced today the launch of Tru-Immune™ — a finger prick, self-collection kit for its COVID-19 neutralizing antibody test.

The simple test allows individuals to safely, quickly, and effectively obtain real-time measurements of their current COVID-19 immunity profiles with minimal pain and inconvenience.

This newly developed test means that patients — under the guidance of a licensed healthcare professional — can obtain personal COVID-19 immunity readings with a simple drop of capillary blood from the tip of their finger. Samples are returned to Ethos via prepaid, priority postage, and results are available electronically in 48 hours.

Brian Kincaid, CEO of Ethos Laboratories, hailed the breakthrough as a critical advancement in the global fight against COVID-19. “As we enter year three of the COVID-19 global pandemic, the question is no longer, ‘Do I have COVID-19 antibodies?’ Instead, people are asking themselves, ‘What level of protective immunity do I have against future infection, and do I need a vaccine booster?’ These questions can now be answered with Tru-Immune™.”

COVID-19 neutralizing antibody tests have quickly become the gold standard in antibody assay worldwide due to the strong correlation between neutralizing antibody (Nab) titers and protection from COVID-19 infection. Neutralizing antibody tests will continue to provide invaluable information about longitudinal protective immunity that will guide public health decisions related to vaccine and booster schedules. Additionally, semi-quantitative neutralizing antibody assays, such as Tru-Immune, are likely to become the assay of choice for documenting natural immunity in states where employers are requiring proof of immunity for exemption from vaccine mandates.

Traditional antibody assays provide qualitative information about the presence or absence of binding antibodies such as IgG or IgM and many of these test types are available in rapid or point of care format.

Neutralizing antibody assays such as Tru-Immune™ provide quantitative information about the viral blocking efficacy of a subset of antibodies known as neutralizing antibodies and are typically performed at a central laboratory due to the higher complexity of the test. Importantly, studies have demonstrated that that the correlation between Nab levels and breakthrough COVID-19 infection is stronger than that for IgG binding antibodies. The exact level or ‘threshold’ of neutralizing antibody activity needed to protect against breakthrough infection following vaccination is the subject of extensive research and once fully understood will allow people to monitor their Nab level and minimize the likelihood of infection with COVID-19.

Source: Company Press Release