Opinion

‘Serology’ is the new coronavirus buzzword. Here’s why it matters.

Marc Lipsitch is a professor of epidemiology and director of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

“Serology” is the new buzzword in covid-19 epidemiology, for good reason. Widespread tests to determine whether people are “seropositive” — carrying antibodies indicating that they have been infected with the virus — are essential to understanding where we are in the pandemic.