Raising money for vital CV Antibody testing
Salisbury, England, United Kingdom
Aim
Help tackle the UK’s Coronavirus crisis by bringing in immunity testing kit to test frontline staff for Antibodies - we need your help!
23.04.2020 The laboratory data is being finalised and readied - apparently, most of it has been undertaken; and is being collected, collated and readied to be published - this would mean that the test we propose to use would be the first of its kind in the UK - ready with MHRA approval and internationally recognised, external validation of its sensitivity and specificity... Fingers crossed!
BUZZFEED news today reports on our fundraising efforts:
OUR MISSION:
- All NHS frontline staff and eventually the rest of the population has the right to know if we have already had Covid-19, have antibodies and are immune and should be tested for immunity.
- Our hope is that if people know their immune status they may be able to return to work.
ANTIBODY TESTING IS FUNDAMENTAL IN FIGHTING THIS PANDEMIC:
- The tests we propose to use is an Antibody test which is different from the Government’s current use of PCR antigen tests.
- They are rapid with result in 20 minutes
- They require no specialist equipment, reagents or a laboratory
- They show in the early days of being infected (days 4-7) if you are actively infected and also after you have been infected and have developed immunity (days11- 24).
- These tests can be administered by a health professional - two drops of blood on a strip - much like a pregnancy test
TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST TEST
WHAT WE ARE DOING:
- We first want to test a group of 1000 front line staff and patients and then if funding continues, try and help as many people as possible to get tested for immunity to Covid-19 so that they can return to work.
HOW YOU CAN HELP:
- By donating you are going to help keep our frontline workers safe and also help our country recover and rebuild. Please give as little or as much as you can and even just supporting our cause, spreading the word will help enormously.
WHO WE ARE:
- We are a group of two health professionals and a local businessman who have come together with initial funding of £25,000 to purchase the first 1000 tests.
Read on for the Full Story:
OUR MISSION
We are three individuals who are passionate about human health and the impact that Covid-19 is having on our citizens. We feel that NHS workers, all frontline staff and eventually the rest of the population has the right to know if we have already had Covid-19, have antibodies and are immune. Our aim is to work alongside the Government, not against them, in helping to distribute Covid-19 tests – this is where we need your help.
ANTIBODY TESTING IS FUNDAMENTAL IN FIGHTING THIS PANDEMIC
Knowing if you have antibodies and your immunity status, is paramount to allowing people to get back to work safely and protecting co-workers. Immunity to Covid-19 would mean that our frontline staff could work safely and pose no risk to their patients, or to themselves and aid us all in getting our lives back.
We must test for antibodies for immunity - the PharmACT Ag SarsCov 2 rapid tests are different from the Government’s current use of PCR test kits. The PCR they using are excellent for testing if you are actively infected with coronavirus. However, they are useless if you have already been infected with the virus and have now recovered! They do not show if you are immune! The tests we are importing into the UK will not only determine your antibody and thus immunity, but also give you and your employer the reassurance that you can now return to work. The antibody tests show in the early days of being infected (days 4-7) if you are actively infected and also after you have been infected and have developed immunity (days11- 24) see the graph below.
WHO WE ARE
We are a group of health professionals - Andrew Hilton (Lead Spinal Consultant, Dorset), Tracey Revuelta-Ruffolo (Nursing Consultant & University Educator) and a local philanthropic business leader, Jon Long, who have come together to try and help as many people as possible to get tested for immunity to Covid-19. We have all been frustrated by the lack of testing that is currently being offered to front-line staff and believe that bringing in our own test kits, to test immunity from the virus is the best way we can protect our NHS staff and patients and ultimately you.
Jon Long Andrew Hilton Tracey Revuelta-Ruffolo
WHAT WE ARE DOING
We have already purchased 1,000 tests to be used in our first pilot scheme to test key frontline staff and patients. The kits should arrive in the UK week beginning 6th April, after being externally validated by three top international Universities, these will be rushed out to frontline staff based in Dorset. This first batch has kindly been funded by our partner Jon Long. The second batch is in an order queue and will be paid for as funding allows and delivered soon after. So, to enable us to roll out these tests to a wider audience, as soon as possible, we need funding, which is where we need your help.
Antibody test: SARS CoV-2 RAPID TEST
This test can detect in just 20 minutes if a patient is infected or not. Due to the quick and easy risk identification or detection of the infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for Covid 19 and gives a clear distinction between acutely or previously infected and non-infected patients is possible. Please read more information about the test here link:
As we're sure you are all aware Public Health England (PHE) has now realised the importance of mass testing. The race is on to identify the most reliable testing kit. The test we have identified uses similar principles to other testing kits but the use of colloidal gold we believe makes a big difference. Colloidal gold is a medium within the test that appears superior to the bacterial derived medium of other tests available. The validity of the test we propose to use is in the order of 98%. Final independent verification of validity is being carried out in respected international university laboratories and the results should be available next week.
We have been advocating for mass testing for the last two weeks - it is now clear that the government guided by PHE now appreciate this strategy due to the extensive media coverage.
Our goal continues to be mass testing of as many people as possible, as soon as possible.
Our belief is that front-line staff should be tested first due to their risk of exposure and the importance of keeping them at work.
We are not attempting to compete with the government - we will work alongside them - we seek to complement not compete.
2 drops of blood and you’ll know in 20 minutes
WE WILL WORK TOGETHER
As a fund-giver and supporter, you will be making a huge difference in helping to change the outcome of this current crisis. We will be posting daily on our social media streams to keep you up-to-date on our developments, deliveries of test equipment and other news. We will also let you know who will be receiving the kits and the difference they are making to the NHS and keyworkers across the UK.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
We need funding to purchase tests to bring into the UK. We are a not for profit group, set up by professionals who do not currently have the funds we need to purchase the number of tests we very much need, to help get first our local community and then the UK back on its feet. As a fund-giver you can be confident that you are actively helping to fight this crisis, helping to keep our frontline workers safe and helping our country recover and rebuild.
Please give as little or as much as you can and thank you for helping make a difference!
News stories:
- Coronavirus testing effort hampered by kits contaminated with Covid-19
- Public Health England ignored offers of coronavirus testing help as anger mounts at Government's failure to ramp up capacity
- Offline: COVID-19 and the NHS—“a national scandal”
LINK TO WHO help & advice page:
This project successfully funded on 22nd June 2020