This Scientist Is Running Thousands of Antibody Tests a Day
A day in the life of Jason Hord, one of many scientists working around the clock to test samples from people around the U.S. for antibodies
Around 10 a.m., Jason Hord is out of bed without an alarm. It’s late enough in the morning that the light has leaked through his bedroom window, or there’s some noise in his neighborhood that’s woken him up. Groggily, he gets out of bed. His wife is already at work, and his two school-aged children are also up and doing their distance learning. For the last two months or so, Hord has been on a staggered work and sleep schedule as a medical laboratory scientist at the University of Washington’s Virology lab, which has been at the forefront of coronavirus testing.
Over the last few weeks, there’s been buzz over a new medical test that experts believe can help reopen the country — the antibody test. From a blood sample, these new tests would be able to tell whether or not someone had been infected by the coronavirus, and developed antibodies to it. The human immune system usually produces antibodies when it encounters a foreign pathogen and wants to fight subsequent infections. Presumably, if someone tests positive for antibodies against coronavirus, they would be able to fend off the…
