SAN ANGELO, TX – As testing ramps up throughout the Concho Valley many people are asking what the options are for testing besides the Shannon Medical Center drive-thru.
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At the Shannon drive-thru, which is located at 110 E. Twohig St., the test administered is a nasal swap test. The test is conducted by a nurse or doctor who will shove a giant stick with a cotton swab on it inside of your nose and twirl it around for a bit. This swab will collect boogers, snot, as well as other kind of germs to be tested for COVID-19.
To get a Coronavirus test at Shannon you have to first be screened for the test and then if a doctor finds you eligible for the test then you will be tested.
Unlike Shannon Any Lab Test Now is offering Coronavirus tests to anyone who wants one. Another difference between the two is that ALTN doesn't offer the nasal swap test. Instead they offer antibody tests. A common misconception with the antibody test is that it only tells you if you had it in the past. The truth is actually that these antibody test can tell you if you have it currently or if you've had it in the past.
At ALTN a patient has to call in an schedule an appointment. Once the patient comes in they will be met with doctors and nurses outside in a sanitary tent. Inside the tent the patient will give blood to collect serum which is used for the serologic test. If a patient tests positive for the IgM test then that means their body is currently fighting SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The IgM antibody is detected if you have an active infection or have recently been exposed to the virus. The other type of test administered with the blood is for IgG. IgG antibodies can usually be detected 10 days from suspected infection or post symptom onset. The IgG antibodies will remain in the blood after an infection has passed.
Only down side of the antibody test is that patients are recommended to wait atleast seven days before getting one of these tests. This is to help to build up the number of antibodies in the patients blood.
Any Lab Test Now is located at 3270 Sherwood Way.
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Asking them how much they charge for the antibody test Matt? Most folks will consider that to be the deciding factor on testing or not..... Who, What, When , Where, and Why.....and perhaps How Much.
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PermalinkThe test offered is a serologic antibody test, in which blood will be drawn to detect past exposure. The detection of a current exposure to Covid-19 is a VIRAL TEST, in which the nose swab method is utilized.
The accuracy this test measured in "sensitivity" and "specificity". Sensitivity of 100% (for identifying TRUE POSITIVES) and a specificity of 99.6% (to identify TRUE NEGATIVES). Positive tests indicate the presence of antibodies, negative tests indicate none. In some rare cases, a "false positive" may be indicative of a prior infection of other corona viruses, and in other cases when tested too early, or in cases where a person is immunocompromised, a "false negative" result is possible. After 10-14 days of infection, a positive test would be considered an accurate indication of igG antibodies for Covid-19.
Again, this is not a diagnostic for an ACTIVE Covid-19 infection. If you are experiencing Covid-related symptoms, you're urged to visit your doctor or ER.
The antibody test is $99, however, it's possible to use your health insurance as a form of payment, but you'll need to contact your healthcare provider for approval to be submitted to your respective insurance company. If needed, you can get an itemized receipt that can be submitted to insurance companies for possible reimbursement.
Accepted payments are credit and/or debit cards, prepaid Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express gift cards, PayPal, Health Savings accounts (HSAs) and Flex Spending Accounts (FSAs).
After you've been tested, your results should be available to you within 1-2 business days.
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