Germany begins mass COVID-19 antibody testing to better understand scope of virus penetration

德國開始大規模新冠肺炎抗體檢測，以釐清病毒感染範圍

Test results will be used to understand which social and economic restrictions can most effectively bend curve of infection and which can be safely lifted


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Germany has begun conducting mass COVID-19 antibody testing in order to gain a better understanding of how deeply the virus has penetrated society and what social restrictions are most effective in bending the infection curve, according to a New York Times report published on Saturday (April 19).

According to the report, Germany has activated broad COVID-19 antibody testing in its capital, Munich. Researchers will go to the homes of 3,000 randomly selected citizens who have agreed to take monthly blood tests for COVID-19 antibodies for a year, per New York Times. The tests will be used to get a better understanding of how many people, including those with no symptoms, have already had the virus.

Germany is the first western country that has successfully contained the spread of the virus, and the mass antibody testing has made Germany a leading country in the Western world in “figuring out how to control the contagion while returning to something resembling normal life,” the report said.

Many Western countries, including the U.S., have found it hard to screen out all infected people under the current circumstances. In addition to working hard to test people for the virus, Germany is hoping to sample the entire population for antibodies in coming months in order to understand the societal penetration of the virus, the actual mortality rate of the disease, and whether immunity is being developed.

The German government is also hoping to use the results of the research to solve the riddle of how to let the country move safely into the next phase of the pandemic, while learning which social and economic restrictions can most effectively bend the curve of infection and which can be safely lifted.

However, the New York Times report stated that there is no scientific evidence to prove that people with COVID-19 antibodies are totally immune from getting infected with the virus again, Even if there is immunity, the report said that it is not clear how long it might last.

With regard to testing for the virus, Germany, which has a population of 83 million, has been conducting mass testing, screening about 120,000 people every day, and the number is increasing, CNA reported. Since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, Germany has also self-produced most of its high-quality testing kits for virus.

Mass testing for COVID-19 has helped Germany slow down the spread of the disease and maintain the mortality rate at a low level, CNA reported. Germany has been on the right track in the fight against the pandemic, with people recovering from COVID-19 outnumbering people confirmed to have contracted the disease every day,

The transmission rate also remains low in Germany, with every ten patients with confirmed infection having transmitted the disease to seven other people, according to CNA.