SOUTH DENNIS – Carewell Urgent Care has announced that they are offering antibody tests for COVID-19 and other strains as well.
Currently, there is no way to differentiate which strain people have had if they test positive for the virus.
However, ID specialists have said since that the other strains are not currently active in society, most likely due to COVID-19
The tests will be able to tell patients if they have antibodies to the novel coronavirus, which in turn tells them if they have had COVID-19 in the past.
“I think the more information we have about who has been exposed will help us to have a lot more information about where in our population this epidemic of COVID-19 has been,” said Dr. John Cornwell.
Antibody tests do not signal if patients can contract the virus again, as no one knows that just yet.
No appointments are needed for these tests, and there is no maximum amount of tests that can be administered.
“The more people that we can test and see, we’ll have a better idea and get a better handle on how this virus spreads and operates,” Cornwell said.
“I think there’s so much unknown that any information we can bring to bear on it is hugely important.”
Tests, which Cornwell explained are not yet approved by the FDA, take roughly 20 to 30 minutes, and results come back within two to three days. A milliliter of blood is drawn to conduct the test.
Patients will pay a draw fee of $50 to Carewell. Tests will be sent to Quest Diagnostics sites. Additional bills would be worked out with Quest directly.
Carewell Urgent Care has locations across the state, including one in South Dennis.
To learn more, visit Carewell’s website by clicking here.
About Brendan Fitzpatrick
