ARKANSAS, USA — COVID-19 antibody testing started over three weeks ago, and it seems patients and medical professionals still have lots of questions.
Owner of Arkansas Journey Labs Heather Mason said their Benton and Hot Springs locations have tested over 100 patients for COVID-19 antibodies.
“I mean, it’s all brand new to us,” Mason said.
But, that doesn’t reflect the number of phone calls she’s gotten with questions about doctor referrals.
“So, we went ahead and purchased the antibody test, which is the rapid test. They don’t need a doctor’s order in order to get that,” Mason said.
For $60, patients can get results in 15 minutes with the prick of a finger.
It’s not FDA approved, but is allowed under the Emergency Use Authorization clause.
“They may want to go and give that positive to their physician and for confirmation do a lab draw,” Mason said.
Family Medicine Physician Dr. Kent Covert said he hasn’t seen too many people looking to get the test since their office began antibody testing.
“I wouldn’t say it’s just been a huge rush of people, but it’s been pretty steady. I think they’re estimating that we’re doing probably eight to ten tests in this office per day,” Dr. Covert said.
He wonders if the tests are leading to more questions.
“Just the sheer number of negative test results that we’ve got so far kind of made us wonder if the test is as good as we’d hoped,” Dr. Covert said.
He said about 120 tests have been done, and the number of positives are in the single digits.
“We’re hoping that as more tests are done and more research is done, that the test sensitivity and specificity will improve. But again, for right now, this is kind of the best we’ve got,” Dr. Covert said.
AR Journey Labs has also received lots of questions about where to donate plasma if you do get a positive test.
A spokesperson with the Arkansas Blood Institute said you can register as a donor on their website, and your name will be placed in a pool. Just click here, and then select the "Bio Linked" option.
The Arkansas Department of Health’s guidelines on antibody testing can be found here.