A Kiwi-designed immunity test will give people the ability to test their protection against COVID in a matter of minutes.
It's one of several COVID solutions that Sir Ian Taylor is trialling on a trip to the US and he's hoping the Government will take notice.
This is what it could look like to have the world at your fingertips - a finger-prick test that measures your immune response to COVID-19.
"Analyses the level of antibodies in your system. That antibody has been generated in response to the vaccine, or from having COVID and recovering. So from that we get a reading of what level of immunity you have," Orbis CEO Damian Camp says.
The blood sample is taken, and put into a diagnostic machine with your results coming back in 15 minutes.
Entrepreneur Sir Ian Taylor is using his trip to America to highlight some of the improvements we could make at the border and in our COVID response. The Orbis Immunity test is one of the solutions he is trialling.
READ MORE
- Experts say easing Auckland restrictions 'not desirable' ahead of Cabinet review
- Counties Manukau reaches 90 pct first doses of COVID-19 vaccine
- Covid detected in wastewater samples in Napier, Gisborne
- Ministry of Health reveals more details on vaccine pass for domestic use and international trave
"And there I am, I'm in the range medium to high and apparently it's a good place to be. And it is so comforting to know that," Sir Ian Taylor says.
"It was a game-changer for me, I would have just wandered off thinking 'I'm cool, I'm cool'. But this confirmed it."
The test can help in several ways.
"So you could talk to your GP about potentially getting a booster shot, or if you're preparing to go overseas, it could help you to take certain precautions," Camp says.
It's been designed here, and Camp hopes this product will help people decide when and if they need a booster dose.
"Consistent with the international research that's going on we do see that immunity rolling off. So getting those booster shots will be the next step. It's going to be really important."
Orbis has an application in with the Ministry of Health and expects to have approval imminently.
"I think it is something that should be available in chemists and doctors everywhere and the faster the Government, the Ministry of Health can move on verifying this, the better," Sir Ian says.
So consumers could be having not just positive or negative results but their level of immunity too.
