All NHS and care staff in England are being offered an antibody test with patients and care residents also eligible at their clinician’s request.
The government said highly accurate laboratory based antibody tests will be used to tell whether someone has already had the virus, to provide accurate data about the antibodies they have developed in response.
The information will help clinicians and scientists to better understand the prevalence of the virus in different regions across the country and will inform a Public Health England (PHE) study called SIREN which is seeking to find whether antibodies indicate immunity to COVID-19.
The launch of the study came as the BBC revealed 30 out of 102 care providers contacted said none of their staff had been tested, down from 75 who said so in April.