UWS Zip Code Has Lowest Positive Antibody Test Rate In Manhattan

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — Slightly more than 14 percent of Upper West Side residents tested for antibodies showed signs they were previously infected with the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, according to new city data.

Out of the 53,952 residents tested in the three Zip Codes that make up the Upper West Side, roughly 14.6 percent tested positive for antibodies, according to data released by the Department of Health on Tuesday.

The positive antibody test rate for the Upper West Side Zip Codes is lower than Manhattan's overall rate of 19 percent.

In fact, the Upper West Side is home to the Zip Code with the lowest rate of positive antibody tests in all of Manhattan, 10023, which consists of 59th Street through 78th Street in the downtown section of the neighborhood.

About 12.4 percent of antibody tests came back positive for residents in that area.

Percent positive antibody tests by Upper West Side Zip Code:

• 10023: 12.4 percent (16,459 tested, 2,049 positive)
• 10024: 14.4 percent (15,692 tested, 2,259 positive)
• 10025: 16.6 percent (21,801 tested, 3,609 positive)

Four Zip Codes in Washington Heights and Inwood, and one Zip Code in Harlem rounded out the five areas of Manhattan with the highest positive antibody test rate for residents.

The Zip Code 10032, in Washington Heights, was No. 1 in Manhattan, with about 33.7 percent of antibody tests coming back positive for people the area.

Other parts of New York City had much higher results, with a section of Queens surpassing a 50 percent positive rate for those who were tested.

However, the Bronx, led the way out of the five boroughs for the highest rate, at about 33 percent.

An antibody test indicates if a person has been exposed to the coronavirus by measuring their bloodstream for signs that their immune system produced proteins called antibodies to fight off the virus.

On Tuesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the city's website for coronavirus data would start, including the results of antibody tests.

Additionally, a positive test result could mean the person has antibodies from an infection with a virus in the same family as the coronavirus, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The chance of receiving a false negative can be as high as 30 percent, depending on when the test is conducted, according to a Harvard Medical School blog post.

The data may not accurately reflect the prevalence of antibodies among all neighborhood residents or New York City residents, because people who have been ill with COVID-19 symptoms or were exposed to the virus may be likelier to seek out antibody testing, the city wrote in a disclaimer about the dataset.

"We will be the first jurisdiction in the nation to present our antibody data this way," de Blasio told reporters. "While there is still much to learn about the science of COVID-19 antibody testing, it is an important element to consider when understanding the epidemiology of COVID."

Patch reporter Maya Kaufman and Nick Garber contributed to this report.