Cops regret suggesting vaccine test, KJ's adviser explains why it's not encouraged

 

Inspector-General of Police Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani expressed regret after one of his senior officers suggested that anyone who is doubtful if they were properly vaccinated against Covid-19 can seek out a neutralising antibody test.

Acryl Sani (above), referring to a statement made by Criminal Investigation Department director Abd Jalil Hassan, said it was not within the police's jurisdiction to make such recommendations.

"The statement on the Covid-19 neutralising antibody test is not within the police's jurisdiction. Any inconvenience or questions that arose over the matter is regretted," the top cop said in a separate statement today.

Acryl Sani added that the police is committed to supporting the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme.

Jalil had made the suggestion after police received many queries from the public on what to do if they were doubtful about the Covid-19 vaccine they have received.

This was amid a number of incidents where people were given blank shots. 

Jalil said those who suspected that they have a similar experience should lodge a police report. He also urged the public to report any unauthorised sale of Covid-19 vaccines.

Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin had since ordered all vaccination centres to allow Covid-19 vaccine recipients to record a video if they wish to do so to avoid any doubts. 

Meanwhile, Dr Mohd Ghows Mohd Azzam, the science adviser to Khairy, said the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also do not recommend antibody tests to check if your vaccine is "working" or not due to reliability issues.

"Antibody test kits have limited antibody specificity meaning you might test positive in some, and negative in others," he said.

Ghows explained that certain tests may detect antibodies generated from certain vaccines but not others.

"Most serology tests detect antibodies from the spike protein, while some detect the nucleocapsid protein.

"Those kits targeting the nucleocapsid will not detect antibody responses from vaccines that target the spike protein (eg Pfizer and Astrazeneca)," he said.

Ghows added that kits made for spike protein with low sensitivity may also fail to detect inactivated vaccines such as the one by Sinovac.

"Lastly, it is the functionality of specific antibodies that can neutralise the virus that is more important rather than the level of total antibodies.

"This neutralising effect is not readily deciphered by a serology test at the moment. More needs to be done on this," he said. - Mkini