London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Sep 12, 2025

NHS England official cautions against buying antibody tests

People in England have been cautioned against using coronavirus antibody tests being sold by some retailers.

NHS England's medical director Prof Stephen Powis said experts were "evaluating" antibody tests, which show if someone has already had the virus.

Such tests are not yet available through the NHS, but some are being sold commercially.

"I would caution against using any tests... without knowing quite how good those tests are," said Prof Powis.

Currently, the coronavirus tests available to all adults and children aged over five are swab tests - taking a swab up the nose or from the back of the throat. These tests tell you if you currently have Covid-19.

A second type of test - the antibody test - is a blood test that looks for antibodies in the blood to see whether a person has had the virus.

Health officials in England have already approved an antibody test. There is no date for when it will be rolled out, but Health Secretary Matt Hancock said earlier this week the government was in "the closing stages of commercial negotiations".

On Wednesday, Superdrug became the latest business - and first high street retailer - to offer the antibody test. The kit costs £69 and buyers need to take a blood sample at home, which is sent off to a lab for testing.


Questions over immunity

Speaking at the No 10 daily briefing on Wednesday, Prof Powis said: "Public Health England have been evaluating the new antibody tests, the commercial tests that are becoming available."

But he added: "I would caution against using any tests that might be made available without knowing quite how good those tests are... I would caution people against being tempted to have those tests."

Setting out some of the uncertainties around the commercial tests, Prof Powis said: "Once you have the virus, the body's immune system develops antibodies against it and it's those antibodies that are detected typically a number of weeks after you've had the virus.

"What we don't absolutely know at the moment is whether having antibodies and having the antibodies that are tested in those tests means that you won't get the virus again.

"So I wouldn't want people to think just because you test positive for the antibody that it necessarily means that you can do something different in terms of social distancing, in the way you behave.

"Because until we are absolutely sure about the relationship between the positive antibody test and immunity, I think we as scientists would say we need to tread cautiously going further forward."

Superdrug said it was "confident" in the accuracy and reliability of the test, which it said has a sensitivity of 97.5%. That means it will detect positive antibodies 97.5% of the time, so there is a chance a negative result may be wrong.

There is a variation in the accuracy of tests. A test developed by scientists in Scotland and Switzerland had a 99.8% accuracy rate for giving a positive result.

Dr Colin Butler, from the University of Lincoln, said the commercial tests "should give a good indication" of whether an individual has been infected with Covid-19.

But he added: "Whilst this may be an indication of functional immunity, confirmation of this is awaited from large scale studies presently under way. Until it is, individuals should not assume they are fully immune to further infection."

The World Health Organization says there is no evidence people who have recovered from Covid-19 and have antibodies are protected from being infected again.

The new coronavirus, called Sars-CoV-2, has not been around long enough to know how long immunity lasts, but there are six other human coronaviruses that can give a clue.

Four produce the symptoms of the common cold and immunity is short-lived. In two coronaviruses - the ones that cause Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (Mers) antibodies have been detected a few years later.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
Pig Heads Left Outside Multiple Paris Mosques in Outrage-Inducing Acts
Nvidia’s ‘Wow’ Factor Is Fading. The AI chip giant used to beat Wall Street expectations for earnings by a substantial margin. That trajectory is coming down to earth.
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
On the Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s Death: Prince Harry Returns to Britain
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
×