How predictive are antibody levels when it comes to Covid-19 protection? Elizabeth Tracey reports

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When it comes to whether you’re protected against Covid-19, either by immunization or natural infection, controversy has swirled around antibody levels and how good a predictor they are. Dorry Segev, a transplant surgeon at Johns Hopkins who has looked at these levels in transplant recipients, says a clearer picture is emerging.

Segev: We have learned over the last year a lot about what antibody levels mean. We can actually say quite comfortably today that antibodies correlate with neutralization, which correlates with clinical protection. One problem is that everybody’s looking for a line, and above the line you’re fine and below the line you’re not fine, and that’s never going to happen. More antibodies means more protection, period. But we do know that somebody with no antibodies, is not protected.  :31

Segev says most of us just need to get fully immunized and don’t need an antibody level to demonstrate protection. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.