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Is there an antibody test that can discern the difference between antibodies from the vaccine and antibodies from the actual covid-19 virus? Is there a way for someone who has been fully vaccinated to determine if they had the virus prior?
There are a number of antibody tests but they can generally be summarized as trying to detect 2 different targets on the virus and this may distinguish between natural infection versus vaccination.
1) Spike protein antibody – this can be detected for both people who were vaccinated and naturally infected
2) Nucleocapsid antibody – this is detected among people who were naturally infected, but none of the current vaccines have this component and so having these antibodies might mean that you had the natural infection.
However, the “absence” of antibody on a test might mean that those levels may have waned to a low point, such that they are not detectable. For example, a person who was naturally infected in January 2020 (>1 year ago) might best tested now and have no nucleocapsid antibody because they were present (and detectable) for only the first 3-6 months.
Therefore, I urge people to not try to interpret the presence or absence of antibody as any indication that you are protected or not protected.
