London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Oct 19, 2025

Prominent local doctor endorses COVID-19 antibody testing for BVI

Prominent local doctor endorses COVID-19 antibody testing for BVI

Medical doctor and former legislator, Dr Kedrick Pickering has said he believes antibody testing for the COVID-19 virus should be conducted in the British Virgin Islands.

Antibodies are blood proteins produced by the immune system in response to, and to counteract a specific antigen/virus — in this case, COVID-19.

The presence of COVID-19 antibodies means a person has/had the virus so Dr Pickering said using the antibody testing measure would give government a more precise understanding of the extent of the virus in the territory.

“The test to see if you are currently infected with the coronavirus is the nasal swab, antibody testing can be done to show if there are persons within the community who had been infected, were not aware of it – were asymptomatic – and probably had recovered,” he explained.

Population would’ve been tested if implemented weeks ago


Had this measure been instituted, the former legislator said the entire population would have been already tested and sufficient data would be available to help the government with their COVID-19 policy-making decisions.



Dr Kedrick Pickering



“We could have done all of that by now to the extent that we would have tested everyone in the BVI. Jost Van Dyke is a classic example, we had a scare of a case that may have been related to Jost Van Dyke and they had a team jump into action and immediately after a couple of days we had screened everybody on Jost Van Dyke,” Dr Pickering said.

“If we had started that process several weeks ago, we would have by now basically had screened the entire country. We would then have a sense of what is happening on the ground in the BVI and be in a much better position to make the decision based on information,” he explained.

Resources for antibody testing could have been found


As it pertains to sourcing the necessary resources to facilitate this method of testing, Dr Pickering said he believes it would not be a difficult task.

He said: “We could have found the resources. We could have had access to the resources because the United Kingdom government gave us a number of test kits to do the various testing for our population.”

“It wouldn’t have been that expensive to allocate a small amount of our budget, we could have even used some of the same Social Security money that we took the other day and invest in buying these test kits for the greater purpose of testing the entire community and better be in a position to make the decisions moving forward,” he added.

Data from BVI could be used for build on research


Dr Pickering further said by utilising the antibody testing measure, the BVI would be able to contribute on the global platform to aid with the fight against the COVID-19 virus.

“We would have been able to contribute to the body of scientific literature that exists because if you follow these discussions, especially on the big news networks, they talk about the research and the studies that have been done, etcetera,” the former legislator stated.

After testing more than 1,500 persons for the COVID-19 virus using the popular PCR testing method, the BVI has recorded a total of nine positive cases, with seven recovered, one deceased, and one active case.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
China’s lesson for the US: it takes more than chips to win the AI race
Australia Faces Demographic Risk as Fertility Falls to Record Low
California County Reinstates Mask Mandate in Health Facilities as Respiratory Illness Risk Rises
Israel and Hamas Agree to First Phase of Trump-Brokered Gaza Truce, Hostages to Be Freed
×