MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif.  – Outside Manhattan Beach’s Shade Hotel, 40-year-old Jennifer Jackson has arrived for a coveted appointment.

“I’m filing out of a form to be able to take the anti-bodies test,” said Jackson, who is trying to find out whether she had Covid-19 in the past. “I was pretty sick over the holidays. Q4, early Q1, and so that’s what I’m curious about, if in fact it was this and not just bronchitis or whatever I thought it was.”

Dozens of antibody testing sites have been popping up around SoCal and officials have said they will be a key part of knowing when it’s safe to go back to work. 

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But before you book an appointment, there are some important things you should know.

There is a lot of misinformation.

“I have heard 60 days, I’ve heard six months. There is a lot of information and media out there, none of which is actually proven,” said Jackson.

As she implies, there are a lot of unanswered questions. For one, the accuracy of the serology tests has come into question by experts, there are many bad tests out there. But even if you get a good test, and you test positive, there is little research and conflicting information about how long those antibodies will protect you.  

Dr. Chong Kim, a board-certified physician with the Coastal Anti-Aging Medical Group, who supervised today’s clinic says antibodies don’t seem to provide long-term protection:

“Right now, they’re looking up to 45 days maybe longer, but it really depends on a person’s immune system,” Kim said. 

He even admitted that to provide more accurate results testing might need to be re-done:

“We’ll have to see what the test results are, but believe it or not there is possibility that we might have to re-test some of these people in two or three months," said Kim.

And although his clients all paid $200 for the tests, the Trump administration maintains that serology tests are covered by insurance under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act as well as the CARES Act. 

So, if you want a serology test, get one, but don’t rely on it to protect you. 

Jackson finishes getting her blood drawn, collects her thing and before she leaves tells me:

“It’s not going to change my habits, of wearing a face-covering or gloves or social distancing. I’m just doing this as a curiosity thing and also to know if I am positive, if I can help kind of donate plasma or antibodies to help the overall population.”

Jackson, like much of the population is eager for answers, answers that could be months or years away.