ua antibody

The U.S. lags far behind other countries in the use of tests, contact tracing and isolation to slow the spread of COVID-19, according to Michael Worobey.

The University of Arizona is expanding its free antibody testing initiative to community members, medical personnel and first responders on Monday. 

There will be 31 testing sites available, and more will open if needed, a UA Health Sciences department news release said.

Antibody blood testing does not identify whether a person has COVID-19. Rather, it detects if a person has antibodies that develop seven to 10 days after the virus has passed.

The specific testing site for each person will be selected during the registration process.

All participants will be screened for symptoms before their appointment, and anyone showing symptoms will not move forward in the process, the UA said.

The UA announced in April that it was developing an antibody test for COVID-19 and would make 250,000 such tests available to the state after receiving $3.5 million in funding.

The first phase of testing was provided to 3,000 medical personnel and first responders on April 30. 

UA also plans to offer optional testing to its faculty, staff and students.

To sign up for a free test, go to covid19antibodytesting.arizona.edu.


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Contact Star reporter Shaq Davis at 573-4218 or sdavis@tucson.com

On Twitter: @ShaqDavis1