According to the national daily Danish newspaper Extra Bladet, the employees of Novo Nordisk Denmark and its sister companies will carry out antibody testing of 40,000 employees including family members, for antibodies related to COVID-19. This study will enable the company to determine whether employees have been infected by the Corona virus.
A blood test will be undertaken in order to detect if antibodies are present which may well offer protection (immunity) to future infection.
The testing will be carried out at several locations across Denmark such that it is representative of the working population at large. Testing family members will provide information regarding the chain of infection.
In addition to determining how widespread antibody formation is in the population at large, questions regarding immunity – both current and long term - for those with antibodies will be studied.
In order to make this determination, individuals will be studied at present and both 6 and 12 months later.
Professor of Virology. University of Copenhagen, Allan Randrup Thomsen is not familiar with the details of the study but points out that the follow-up blood tests are crucial for determining how long the antibodies remain in the body. Furthermore, this information will be of importance regarding the degree of immunity if a second wave of the virus occurs. To date, we have focused on the percentage of the population that has been infected by the virus. However, it is important to determine when the number of antibodies begins to fall. Are we talking about months or years?