Employees who are found to be "recovering from corona" will not have to stay in isolation in case of exposure to a verified patient • CEO of National Health Fund: "Isolation savings are very significant for the health system" • The tests are expected to begin early next week • All details
Antibody testing
Photography:
Oren Ben Hakon
First publication: All
health system workers across the country will conduct an antibody survey, which is expected to begin early next week.
Its purpose is to check whether there are employees who have been infected without knowing it and can be defined as "recovering from corona".
The implications for the health care system are enormous, because workers who are found to be recovering will not have to stay in isolation if they are exposed to a verified patient.
But other than that there will be no change in the definitions of protection or physical distance required.
"In the coming days we will start summoning health care workers for serological tests to find out if they have been to Corona in the past. The savings in insulation for the health care system are very significant. Manpower is lacking and worn out, and for the winter we need our staffs ready," said Haim Fernandez. "At the height of morbidity in Corona, 10% of my employees were in isolation and such a 'recovery certificate' could be an amazing line-up," he said.
Photo: Knesset Channel
Dr. Yotam Shenhar, Director of the Laboratories Division at Leumit, stated: "We will offer all Leumit employees to participate in the survey.
An employee who wishes will fill out a questionnaire and sample, and the data will be forwarded to the Ministry of Health for processing.
The intention is to repeat the survey over time to check the strength of the immune response and whether there are other people who are exposed to the virus. "
Dr. Sharon Elrai Price, head of public health services, said at a briefing ten days ago: “These days we are starting to do the next serological survey.
We will start testing antibodies in medical staff and test more people.
"There is no doubt that the positive rate today is more than 3.8% or 5.5%, but in a rough estimate we are not above 20%."
The serological surveys conducted so far in the country have shown that the number of people exposed to the virus is 7-10 times higher than the number actually diagnosed (in the test of the pen) than they thought and this may be the case among health care workers.
This is the case in the first serological survey, the findings of which were published in June and found that 2% of the population (about 200,000 people) had antibodies to corona, as 10 of the rate actually diagnosed at that time.
The second serological survey, the results of which were published this month, found that 5.5% of the population had been exposed to corona and developed antibodies and were in fact "recovering", a rate that is 7 times higher than the number actually diagnosed during the survey (June-July).
A serological survey conducted by Prof. Gili Regev Yochai in August among the employees of Sheba Hospital found that a tenth of the employees had antidotes to Corona.