Why Check Your COVID Protection?

Check Your COVID Protection

Where are your antibody levels?

 

Omicron, the new variant of COVID-19 discovered in South-Africa last November, has been the dominant variant in Europe amongst newly diagnosed infections. In fact, most countries are recording drastically increasing new case numbers week by week; Austria, Czechia and Ukraine reported a weekly increase of 80% this week, and with the exception of the UK, Ireland and Greece, all the key European states are facing growing numbers and increased pressure on their health systems.

 

The UK and Ireland were the first countries in Europe where the Omicron variant became dominant, and it appears that both countries are on the downtrend at the moment. The UK’s turning point was around 2 weeks ago and Ireland followed a week later with over 22.000 new daily infections reported on a weekly average. While the downtrend continues, we mustn’t forget that the current infection rate is still higher than it was at the peak of wave 3. We have at the moment 1 in 12 people COVID-19 positive so the risk of onward infection is high.

 

While the new infections reached record high numbers, it did not translate into correspondingly high death cases. Why? Firstly, the Omicron variant appears to produce milder symptoms compared to the previously known Alfa and Delta variants and hence is less deadly. More importantly, by the time Omicron hit Ireland, a large part of the population had already gained protection via vaccines or previous infections.

 

The challenge is, however, to maintain the COVID protection during the next months. It is recommended that people take the booster shot to maximize their protection. It can now be determined through simple blood tests whether one has built sufficient level of antibody protection, whether that’s from an earlier infection or vaccines. If you want to find out your own protection, you can do so by applying for a quick test e.g. at Nuacell Clinic near Dublin.