It’s just over one year since COVID-19 became a familiar term around the world. Due to quick action and collaborative innovation from science and medicine, vaccines have been developed and are being distributed at a pace unrivaled in human history. But, the work doesn’t stop there.

Regularly monitoring vaccine efficacy and surveying human behavior among the vaccinated population are crucial to understanding its durability. Antibody testing will continue to be important, long after vaccines have been administered.

Our guest today is Dr. Angela Rasmussen, a virologist and affiliate of the Georgetown Center for Global Health, Science and Security. She collects evidence about the human response to emerging viruses to gain a better understanding of vaccine efficacy.

Today we’re discussing all aspects of antibody testing for SARS-CoV-2. We’ll learn how the tests are implemented, how they determine an immune response is present, and why testing for antibodies is such an important part of the battle against this virus.

We’ll also hear from University of Missouri (MU) scientists Dr. Mark Daniels, Professor of Immunology, Dr. John R. Middleton, Professor of Livestock Health, and Dr. Enid Schatz, chair of the Department of Public Health. The university is conducting an antibody testing study – both biological and behavioral – and our experts on the ground at MU will walk us through the antibody testing process from start to finish.

Some Questions Asked:

How can testing help us continue to research and improve vaccine use alongside their distribution? (2:42)

What does an ideal testing scenario look like? (4:21)

Which behaviors can be more easily changed, and which might be more challenging to shift? (12:13)

When do you think people can expect to return to business as usual? (16:19)

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

Why it’s hard to determine post-vaccination behavior recommendations (1:30)

The importance of following the progress of vaccinated individuals (3:26)

How antibody testing works at the University of Missouri (6:56)

What we can learn from collecting behavioral data (10:27)

Discoveries that were made about antibody levels (13:58)

Why it’s important to invest in research now (18:51)

Learn more about Dr. Angela Rasmussen:

Website

Twitter

Learn more about Dr. Mark Daniels

MU School of Medicine

LinkedIn

Learn more about Dr. John R. Middleton

MU College of Veterinary Medicine

Learn more about Dr. Enid Schatz:

MU School of Health Professions

LinkedIn

Connect with President of Laboratory Diagnostics, Deepak Nath:

LinkedIn

Twitter

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