London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 07, 2025

Antibody test rollout could steer a targeted booster programme

Antibody test rollout could steer a targeted booster programme

UK scheme to explore post-infection protection could also illuminate reinfection rates and immunity across different variants, say experts
Antibody tests are to be offered widely to the UK public as part of a new programme which a leading scientist said could lead to targeted booster vaccinations for vulnerable people.

Thousands of adults will receive tests each day as part of a government scheme exploring how much natural protection people have after getting coronavirus.

Anyone over the age of 18 will be able to opt in from Tuesday when taking a PCR test, with up to 8,000 recipients having two antibody tests sent to their home if they test positive.

On Sunday, there were 32,253 positive cases recorded in the previous 24 hours, the government said, with a further 49 deaths.

People will be sent two finger-prick antibody tests to complete at home and to send back for analysis. The first must be taken as soon as possible after the positive result, and the second must be taken 28 days later.

Francois Balloux, the director of the UCL Genetics Institute, said the study will provide much-needed data.

“In the whole context of boosters, I am not a big fan of giving boosters to the population irrespective of age and health. I don’t think it essential at this stage,” he said.

He added it was also ethically hard to justify giving boosters to young and healthy people.

“I think providing boosters on the condition on or presence of antibodies is very clever. When people ask me – should I get a booster? – it is reasonable to give boosters to those who do not have sufficient antibodies.”

He added that, however, some people can still be protected from Covid without antibodies.

Balloux said boosters for everyone did not make sense but targeted ones could be rolled out. He added that the new programme would give a good idea of reinfection and provide “key information”.

“At the moment we don’t have an idea of the number of reinfections,” he said.

Dr Muhammad Munir, a virologist from Lancaster University, said the primary aim of giving out antibody tests is to see whether antibodies protect against other variants of the virus.

He said people who request tests should not think they will not be reinfected upon testing positive for antibodies – or have any more protection. “It cannot tell you that you will not get Covid again, or that you cannot infect people,” he said.

Munir agreed with Balloux that the information collected could be used to help decide who needs boosters, however.

“People would be sampled before it is decided whether or not they need a booster but that is not the primary objective of the research.”
Antibodies for Covid-19 mean you are likely to have some protection from severe disease, but it’s still possible to get and then spread the virus. Antibodies take time to develop. Most people make antibodies within 28 days of being infected or vaccinated, but it can take longer.

The Department of Health and Social Care says it will be the first time antibody tests have been made available to the general public, and the scheme could also provide insight into any groups of people who do not develop an immune response.

The data will be used to inform the ongoing approach to the pandemic and give further insight into the effectiveness of vaccines on new variants.

The announcement comes amid ongoing debate over the rollout of booster jabs in the UK.

Sajid Javid, the health secretary, has said he is “confident” a booster vaccine campaign can start next month, despite reports that experts want more time to consider whether they are needed.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×