I drove to Tacoma for COVID-19 antibody testing
Apr 29, 2020, 5:17 AM | Updated: Oct 8, 2024, 6:42 am
Chris Sullivan in his custom made cherry face mask. If you listen to KIRO Radio's Tom and Curley, you'll understand the reference. (Sullivan)
(Sullivan)
Was that awful bronchitis my wife suffered over Christmas and into mid-January really COVID-19?
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That’s the question our family has been asking ever since this pandemic started. None of us ever had a fever. None of us ever had shortness of breath, but it has been nagging at me for several months.
We have been lucky since. We are all healthy, but that question remains: Were we exposed to the virus?
Hopefully, I’ll know the answer in two days.
Quest Diagnostics is providing antibody testing at its 2,200 clinics nationwide, and as of this week you don’t need a doctor’s referral. I figured I could find out if I was exposed, and if I had antibodies, I might be able to help in the search for a treatment.
I went online, and in 20 minutes I had an appointment. I had to drive to Tacoma to find an open spot for the same day, though I could have waited a few days and made an appointment in Seattle or Renton.
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It wasn’t cheap. I paid $130 for the blood draw and test, after a $10 fee. I feel fortunate that I had the money for the test. I know that is pretty steep. I hope insurance might reimburse me for some or all of it.
I made it to the clinic, and I was in and out in about 10 minutes. The staff was great. They had done about 100 antibody tests in just the last few days.
They are hoping this testing will help provide peace of mind for people like me and provide some much needed data on who’s been exposed to the virus, with or without symptoms. This is not a test to determine whether someone currently has the virus. If you think you do, you’re going to need the nose swab.
How accurate will this test be? Researchers don’t really know. There are false positives and negatives with this antibody test, our understanding of COVID-19 is evolving. But an easy drive to Tacoma on a sunny Tuesday seemed like a great way to answer a nagging question, and maybe help our response to this deadly disease.
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