Delhi: Antibody tests to check vaccine efficacy

NEW DELHI: As Delhi government prepares to scale up the vaccination drive from this week, select centres are likely to see pre- and post-vaccination tests for “antibody titer”, which would help establish the efficacy of the Covid-19 vaccines and tackle vaccine hesitancy.
The antibody titer test detects the presence and level of antibodies in the blood and helps gauge a person’s immune response.Though these tests have not been mandated and there is no large-scale plan, vaccination centres at three Delhi government healthcare facilities — Delhi State Cancer Institute, Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty Hospital (RGSSH) and Chacha Nehru Bal Chikitsalaya — will see these voluntary tests being carried out.
“We are doing it at our own level as we just want to see the efficacy of the vaccine. It will help advocate that the vaccine is good to contain the disease,” said Dr BL Sherwal, medical director of RGSSH. He added that by the time the vaccination drive for those above the age of 50 years starts, the hospital would have the evidence.
Sherwal said, “We have decided to undertake the procedure in the first week, on the day of the second dose and then after one and a half to two months. If the antibody titer is established at a certain level, we will be able to say that the vaccine is safe.” Samples from select beneficiaries would be taken for the voluntary test.
Dr Suneela Garg, director and professor in the department of community medicine at Maulana Azad Medical College, University of Delhi, and a public health expert who is a part of the vaccination programme, said that antibody tests were carried out as a part of the trial of vaccines. This helped establish their efficacy.
“Hospitals can carry out antibody tests even though it is not mandatory. They can take samples and submit them. After seroconversion, we can find out the efficacy,” added Garg. Seroconversion is the period during which a specific antibody develops in the blood.
Garg added that all preparations were in place regarding training of personnel to scale up the drive from this week. Delhi government has drawn up a tentative list of 189 vaccination sites at 144 locations as part of the plan and submitted it to the Centre for notification.
“The training of all personnel, including those at the 621 cold chain points and vaccinators, is complete. We have not been using the full manpower till now,” said Garg, adding that it was preferable to start small while rolling out such a massive exercise, make it sustainable and then escalate.