Escambia County lags far behind others on antibody testing

The county and health officials have touted the importance of antibody testing.

The Florida Department of Health has published the antibody test results for each county through July 2.  The table below lists all the counties that have conducted a minimum of 1,000 tests.

Escambia County is at the bottom. The counties that are highlight in blue have fewer COVID positive cases than Escambia – 17 in total – but have conducted more antibody tests.

Only 2.67% of the antibody tests done in Escambia have been positive.

According to the CDC, the antibody test looks for the presence of antibodies, which are specific proteins made in response to infections. Antibodies are detected in the blood of people who are tested after infection; they show an immune response to the infection. Antibody test results are especially important for detecting previous infections in people who had few or no symptoms.

We aren’t testing enough people in Escambia County to figure out how many people had the virus without knowing – which makes it difficult to estimate how many may be immune to COVID-19.

The CDC does not know if the antibodies that result from SARS-CoV-2 infection will provide someone with protection (immunity) from getting infected again. If antibodies do provide immunity, we don’t know how much antibody is protective or how long protection might last. CDC scientists are currently conducting studies to answer these questions.

 

Rank County Fl Positives AB Tests
1 Dade         48,423         52,425
2 Palm Beach         17,082         39,918
3 Broward         21,516         31,245
4 Pinellas           8,685         16,589
5 Hillsborough         14,583         14,407
6 Orange         14,152         12,172
7 Collier           4,987         11,327
8 Volusia           2,786           8,293
9 Lee           7,515           7,552
10 Duval           9,366           7,331
11 Sarasota           2,152           5,964
12 Lake           1,871           4,938
13 Manatee           3,758           4,390
14 Pasco           2,835           4,357
15 Seminole           3,416           4,056
16 St. Johns           1,360           3,690
17 Brevard           2,574           3,550
18 Polk           5,451           3,268
19 Monroe              363           2,913
20 Martin           2,406           2,794
21 St. Lucie           2,252           2,501
22 Sumter              432           2,461
23 Osceola           3,003           2,389
24 Marion              981           2,347
25 Leon           1,824           1,925
26 Charlotte              932           1,816
27 Indian River              941           1,740
28
Alachua
          1,606           1,635
29 Clay           1,013           1,259
30 Okaloosa              901           1,257
31 Flagler              383           1,111
32 Hernando              550           1,106
33 Escambia           2,507           1,088
34 Walton              290           1,020
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