{"id":52493,"date":"2025-04-25T22:02:35","date_gmt":"2025-04-26T02:02:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hancockhealth.org\/mayo-health-library\/how-do-covid-19-antibody-tests-differ-from-diagnostic-tests\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T12:05:52","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T17:05:52","slug":"how-do-covid-19-antibody-tests-differ-from-diagnostic-tests","status":"publish","type":"mayo","link":"https:\/\/www.hancockhealth.org\/de\/mayo-health-library\/how-do-covid-19-antibody-tests-differ-from-diagnostic-tests\/","title":{"rendered":"How do COVID-19 antibody tests differ from diagnostic tests?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"container mx-auto   wordpress-block wordpress- core-\">\n<p>Antibody testing shows whether you have antibodies to the virus that causes COVID-19, also called coronavirus disease 2019.<\/p>\n<p>Having antibodies suggests you&#8217;ve either had an infection with the virus in the past or you&#8217;ve had the COVID-19 vaccine. Antibody testing is not used to diagnose COVID-19.<\/p>\n<h3>What are antibodies and why are antibody tests done?<\/h3>\n<p>Antibodies are proteins. The body makes antibodies when there are things in the body that shouldn&#8217;t be there, such as viruses. The antibodies help clear out the virus. Having antibodies to a virus may give some protection from the disease caused by the virus for a time.<\/p>\n<p>A blood test can show whether you have antibodies to the COVID-19 virus within days to weeks of having the infection or the vaccine. But antibody testing, also called serology testing, is not done routinely.<\/p>\n<p>A healthcare professional might use an antibody test to diagnose complications of COVID-19. These include multisystem inflammatory syndrome, a rare condition linked to COVID-19.<\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;ve gotten over COVID-19, you might be able to help others who have COVID-19. If testing shows that you have a high level of antibodies, you might donate part of your blood called plasma. This is called convalescent plasma. It may help others with severe disease who have a weakened immune system.<\/p>\n<h3>What tests are used to diagnose COVID-19?<\/h3>\n<p>Two types of tests can help diagnose COVID-19.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p><strong>Molecular tests.<\/strong> These tests look for genetic material from the COVID-19 virus.<\/p>\n<p>Polymerase chain reaction tests, shortened to PCR tests, are molecular tests. You may also hear this type of test called an NAAT test, short for nucleic acid amplification test.<\/p>\n<p>PCR tests are more accurate than the other type of COVID-19 test, called an antigen test. You can do PCR tests at home. But they are more likely to be done by a healthcare professional and processed in a lab.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p><strong>Antigen tests.<\/strong> These tests look for viral proteins called antigens.<\/p>\n<p>Antigen tests also may be called rapid COVID-19 tests or at-home COVID-19 tests. These tests are useful if you need quick results.<\/p>\n<p>Antigen tests are accurate. But they&#8217;re less accurate than PCR tests. If you have symptoms and an antigen test is negative for COVID-19, take another antigen test after 48 hours to get the best result.<\/p>\n<p>If you don&#8217;t have symptoms and get a negative result, test again after 48 hours. If the result is still negative and you think you have COVID-19, you can test a third time after another 48 hours. Or you can get a molecular test or call your healthcare professional. <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>How do I get a COVID-19 diagnostic test?<\/h3>\n<p>In the United States, at-home COVID-19 tests are available from several sources, including stores, pharmacies or online. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves the tests. On the FDA website, you can find a list of the tests that are validated and when they expire.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Antibody testing shows whether you&#8217;ve had the COVID-19 virus in the past. It&#8217;s not the same as testing to see whether you have the virus now.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","tags":[1686,1685,1682,1684],"class_list":["post-52493","mayo","type-mayo","status-publish","hentry","tag-anatomical-structure","tag-condition","tag-person-group-concept","tag-theme-of-focus","content_type-answers"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How do COVID-19 antibody tests differ from diagnostic tests? - Hancock Health<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hancockhealth.org\/de\/mayo-health-library\/how-do-covid-19-antibody-tests-differ-from-diagnostic-tests\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"de_DE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How do COVID-19 antibody tests differ from diagnostic tests? - Hancock Health\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Antibody testing shows whether you&#039;ve had the COVID-19 virus in the past. 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