ICYMI: Congressman Allen
Holds Telephone Town Hall

WASHINGTON – Congressman Rick W. Allen (GA-12) held a telephone town hall Tuesday night to update residents of Georgia's 12th District about police reform, safely reopening schools, and Operation Warp Speed’s progress in developing a COVID-19 vaccine. Dr. Brooks Keel, President of Augusta University, joined Congressman Allen to provide an update on COVID-19 testing and developments. For those who were unable to participate in the call, here are some of the highlights:

Catherine in Hephzibah asked about the chance of reinfection for someone who tested positive for COVID-19.

Dr. Keel: “The short answer is there is not enough information on that for us to be sure. Everything we know right know points to the fact that if you have been exposed to COVID-19, you develop natural antibodies against the virus just like you develop antibodies against pretty much every other virus that you get exposed to. Those natural antibodies should provide you with protection for a week, two weeks, or a month or 6 months down the road if you come in contact with COVID-19 again. That is what we are really hoping is the case and that is why you are probably seeing a lot of emphasis on antibody testing.

“When we test you for antibodies we are not really testing for the presence of COVID-19 virus, we are testing your body to determine if you have actually produced antibodies against COVID-19 and if they are circulating in your body now. As I mentioned we have recently started to do antibody testing here in Augusta. It is a fairly new procedure. And it does mean giving a blood sample and we can test it. We are finding that only 4 percent of the people we are testing actually have antibodies. It is still too early to determine how readily an individual develops natural immunity once exposed to COVID-19, and once you do, how long you are actually immune. We will know an awful lot more in the coming months as we get more data regarding antibody testing and collect information nationally and internationally on vaccine preparations.”

Christine in Grovetown asked how she can receive help with unemployment issues.

Congressman Allen: “Thanks for bringing that to our attention… let me give you the Augusta office number: 706-228-1980. Then we’ll refer you to a member of our staff, get you to sign some paperwork so we can make an inquiry and find out what is going on with your unemployment.”

Linda in Augusta asked how to get an antibody test.

Dr. Keel: “That’s a great question. We are currently offering antibody testing to the public on a limited basis in the AU system right now. Hopefully we will be announcing to the public soon… we will use our tele-med capabilities to try and get this scheduled. Stay tuned and we will hopefully be making an announcement very shortly. You can also contact your routine health provider and tell him the situation and see if they can arrange to have a routine antibodies test done. Those would be the two options I would recommend. Stay tuned, we will be putting information out on how to make that available and in the meantime contact your routine doctor.”

Linda also asked about schools safely reopening.

Congressman Allen: “What we want is to give every mom out there the choice. This government guaranteed a long time ago an education for every young person in this country. We are funding that and will continue to fund that. But at the same time, if we are going to fund it, we need to have schools open for parents who choose to send their children back to school and provide the online distance-learning capabilities for parents who feel it is in the best interest of their child to learn at home.”

For more information and a list of coronavirus resources, visit Congressman Allen’s COVID-19 page at allen.house.gov/covid-19. To learn more about the AU ExpressCare App for virtual screenings, click here.