There was fatigue and, oddly, the loss of her sense of taste and smell. Patricia Lyons of Richmond now knows both as telltale signs of a COVID-19 infection, but back in early March, when so little was known about the virus, the symptoms were no reason for alarm.
As information about the virus trickled out, Lyons developed a suspicion that her mild illness, which came days after traveling through an airport, was COVID-19.
This month, an antibody test confirmed that hunch — bittersweet news that offered some sense of relief but that left many questions unanswered. Is she now immune to the illness? If so, for how long?
“I was glad to see it positive, but I don’t think it’s a golden ticket, get-out-of-jail-free card,” Lyons said in an interview, adding that her husband also tested positive. “We’re still taking precautions, wearing masks. We’re waiting to learn more about what it means to have antibodies.”
People are also reading…
Lyons, a local wedding photographer, is among the 26,500 Virginians who have received a positive antibody test result and await guidance from health care experts and officials about how exactly to interpret the news.
Antibodies are proteins that help fight off infections and their presence in a person’s bloodstream can be a sign of a previous infection. Many laboratories in Virginia and elsewhere have begun offering antibody tests, including the nation’s largest, LabCorp and Quest Diagnostics.
Federal health researchers have flagged many tests on the market as unreliable, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is vetting tests for their reliability. Research into COVID-19 antibodies is ongoing; some health care experts warn that unlike other viral infections, like measles, a past COVID-19 infection might not deem someone immune for life.
“One of the problems we have with this virus is that it’s unclear if that’s the case,” Virginia Health Commissioner Norman Oliver said in an interview. “I could not say with certainty that you are immune. Given that, I would recommend continuing to follow the precautions,” he said, referring to washing hands, maintaining social distance and wearing a mask in public.
“To the extent that you might have some immunity, that’s a good thing. But there are a lot of questions about how good that immunity is.”
The Virginia Department of Health has begun tracking antibody tests, but their usefulness remains limited, health officials said. The state hopes to use antibody tests to estimate the spread of COVID-19 across the state, with a testing program planned for the summer.
Such tests might be useful in confirming a past COVID-19 infection in children with symptoms of a new, rare inflammatory syndrome. Otherwise, the state is discouraging individuals from making their own interpretations of antibody test results.
Virginia’s chief epidemiologist, Lillian Peake, said she does not recommend people widely seek antibody tests unless more is known about how to interpret results.
“Right now, I recommend that people talk to their physician and determine whether they should get a test. A doctor can help them interpret the results,” Peake said. “I don’t recommend that people just go out and get [an antibody] test.”
But there already are 26,500 people in Virginia with results in hand.
Caroline Kasper, 29, said she sought an antibody test in recent days after a friend she had been in close contact with in the past few months tested positive in an antibody test.
Kasper, who grew up in Richmond but lives in New York, has been living with her parents in western Henrico County since early March, when she fell ill and left New York.
Kasper said that days before, she found herself in a crowded Manhattan bar with friends to watch basketball. COVID-19 had already begun to spread in the city, but public restrictions had not gone into place and much was unknown about the virus. That night, she also rode the subway.
“The last two days I was in New York, I had body aches. I didn’t feel well, but I didn’t have a fever,” Kasper said. “At the time, people thought, ‘If there’s no fever, it’s not corona.’ Now we know that’s not true.”
Kasper sought an antibody test at BetterMed in western Henrico, and quickly learned it was positive.
“There was some sense of relief when I got that call. Being positive is better than being negative,” Kasper said, adding that it is a small victory that her body encountered and fought off the virus.
“But it’s not a free-for-all. I’m not running around town. I’m still being careful. There’s so much that is unknown.”
Lyons, who received a positive test from Quest Diagnostics, expressed similar feelings. “It’s not like I’m going around saying, ‘I’m immune, woo hoo,’” she said. But there is some relief.
As a wedding photographer in a season of many canceled celebrations, Lyons has been able to work with couples having intimate ceremonies — with precautions but a little less fear.
“It does give me a level of comfort going into these scenarios,” Lyons said.
Lyons said that with her positive antibody test result, she sought to donate plasma to the American Red Cross to help people fighting the illness. Without a positive diagnostic test, she was denied.
Notably, Lyons and Kasper said that while they tested positive, others in their households did not. While Lyons’ husband also tested positive, her daughter tested negative. Kasper’s mother, whom she saw during the latter parts of her illness, tested negative.
It’s another peculiar unknown in a time of many uncertainties, Lyons said. For now, she continues to read “voraciously” about new developments and research.
“I’m eager for the day Dr. Anthony Fauci or another health expert says, ‘It turns out if you tested positive, you’re good to go.’”