Coronavirus antibody test: What is it? How to get one in Tri-Cities
A Tri-Cities wellness center offering antibody testing for COVID-19 has seen zero positive results so far, but administrators say it’s in the early stages of “ramping way up.”
About 30 tests had been done by mid-week at Encore Wellness 4 Life, with another 30 appointments scheduled over just a two-day period, said owner and family nurse practitioner Jennifer Keith Armstrong.
The blood test detects whether a person has been exposed to something before and developed the antibodies, like chicken pox, measles or herpes. In this case, the blood sample is being tested for the coronavirus.
But while it can say if a person has been infected previously with the new virus, scientists don’t yet know how long the protection might last or if it means complete immunity from future infection.
“A lot of people want to do it because they were super sick this winter and they think that they had (the virus) and they just want to know,” Keith Armstrong told the Tri-City Herald. “I think people want to know in the hope that it’s going to be that they are immune and they don’t have to be as strict with the things that they’re doing.”
Encore Wellness 4 Life is based in Umatilla, with locations in Pendleton, Kennewick and Richland.
It started offering the antibody test about two weeks ago as government and health officials across the state and country determine how to safely emerge from the coronavirus pandemic without creating a second, even greater, outbreak.
Tri-Cities Laboratory, with nearly a dozen locations, and Kennewick Medical Center, a medical practice near downtown Kennewick, also are doing antibody testing.
Antibody test caution
Dr. Charissa Fotinos, the Washington State Health Care Authority’s deputy chief medical officer, cautioned people to remember that while antibody tests might tell a person if they have been exposed, they still can’t say if you won’t be reinfected.
Keith Armstrong with Encore said she hasn’t tested her own blood yet, but when she does the results will not change what she does when out in the community. And others should do the same with the new normal.
“I’ve always been neurotic anyhow. I will still wear a mask in public to protect people from me because of my exposures (as a nurse), and I will wear gloves,” she said “I hope people aren’t going to suddenly get lax just because the guidelines get changed.”
Keith Armstrong said she’s had some patients come in saying their employers want to know if they have been tested for COVID-19 or had the antibody test before they can return to work.
Antibody testing through Encore is available Thursdays and Fridays at its Kennewick location, 135 Vista Way, Suite E, and Tuesdays at its Richland center, 616 The Parkway. Testing is done every weekday at the Umatilla site, 82346 Bucks Lane, and Tuesday afternoons in Pendleton.
Encore Wellness 4 Life also offers nasal swab testing for those who believe they currently are sick with COVID-19.
The center has seen patients who met the qualifiers for testing, including certain symptoms and exposure to a person who tested positive. But Keith Armstrong said aside from one patient, everyone has been negative for the viral infection.
All tests are sent to Boston Heart Diagnostics in Massachusetts. The COVID-19 tests results take about five days to come back, while the antibody test only takes two to three days.
Insurance should cover the antibody test. Otherwise, it costs $125.
The best way to schedule an appointment is to email info@encorewellness4life.com.