SO HOW SAFE AM I WITH MY ‘IMMUNITY PASSPORT’?

I DID have a slightly smug glow of satisfaction when discussing my positive antibody test result with colleagues after my test this week.

‘Jammy devil’ and ‘I wish I had one’ were among the envious, bordering on resentful, responses.

Although there is no absolute proof, some experts believe having antibodies provides some immunity which may mean I cannot get the disease again or pass it on to anyone else. But they don’t know how much.

Friends who had antibody tests that proved negative bore the dejected air of youngsters who had just failed their Leaving or their driving test — again.

I paid €95 to a GP practice for the test. Having had extreme fatigue for three weeks, but few other symptoms, I wanted to be sure. The nurse, Kathy, took a pin prick of blood from my finger using a little kit from the British company SureScreen Diagnostics.

After chatting for the ten minutes it takes for a result, she saw a flicker on the kit, looked up and declared: ‘Good news. You’re positive!’

I was delighted, even more so the next day when I received an email containing a photograph of the result, the test kit used, details of SureScreen and my driving licence. It was basically a

Covid-19 ‘immunity passport’ in all but name.

SureScreen says its coronavirus test is at least 97 per cent accurate, so the results are not fully assured.

Antibody tests made by Swiss firm Roche cost more and take longer. Roche says they are 100 per cent accurate (with a 0.2 per cent false positive rate).

SureScreen is hoping further tests will show the accuracy of its kit, which costs just €15 to make, is even closer to 100 per cent.

The thing is, no one is certain you can’t get the disease twice. But there are some clues as to what might happen. With other coronaviruses, reinfection can occur after a year.

So far there have been no proven cases of reinfection but scientists are examining the evidence even though it is at an early stage and is still somewhat unclear due to the fact that many of those who caught the virus are still experiencing symptoms after a few weeks

It is hoped that the studies beng carried out into immunity will eventually allow like me, who have tested positive to enjoy greater freedom. But only if and when it is known that immunity is established, and for how long.

As the lockdown eases, I can imagine a fellow commuter eyeing me nervously if I stray within the two-metre social distancing zone on a busy train.

The temptation to smile reassuringly and flash a photograph on my iPhone of my coronavirus ‘immunity passport’ at them may be irresistible.