How to know if you have had Covid if you were asymptomatic

The Covid-19 pandemic is far from over according to the latest warning issued by the World Health Organisation.

Cases have been on the rise right across the globe as the highly transmissible Omicron variant continues to spread.

Ireland’s booster vaccination programme has been one of success since it began before Christmas, and now over 2.6 million people in Ireland have received their third dose.

It is recommended that people wait at least three months - or 90 days - after a Covid infection to receive their booster, and so thousands of people will be holding off until March and April for theirs.

So far, the Omicron variant has proved to be a lot less severe than other strains, with symptoms more like the common cold.

There are also many people who could be carrying it and are entirely asymptomatic - so how can they find out if they’ve had the virus before opting to get the booster.

How to know if you have had Covid if you were asymptomatic (Alamy)

According to health officials, the definition of being ‘asymptomatic’ is when you have been infected with coronavirus, but have no symptoms and are feeling at your usual best.

Most people who have no symptoms will never know they have had Covid unless they get a PCR test as a close contact or before travel which comes back positive.

If you opt not to get a PCR test - if you don’t know you’re a close contact or are not travelling - there is another way to find out if you have been infected with Covid after recovery.

You can book an antibody test, which will show what immunity you have to the virus and whether that is as a result of a natural infection or from recent vaccination.

According to the Mater Private: “A blood test can determine whether antibodies to Covid-19 are present in the blood due to natural infection or due to vaccination.

“For determining antibody response to natural infection, if the initial screening test is positive, a second test is performed to confirm the initial result and to determine the levels of antibodies present.

“Further clinical advice can be provided by our expert team of clinical microbiologists to determine whether a positive antibody result may be due to a current or a previous infection.

“For determining antibody response to vaccination, the level of antibody produced in response to vaccination can be measured.”

You can also order antibody tests to carry out at home, however, they are less accurate than booking a professional test.