Valley medical office offers COVID-19 rapid test for asymptomatic patients
Fleur Women's Health in Palm Desert has begun offering a COVID-19 rapid test for patients that have not shown symptoms of having the virus. The test is a prick of the finger to draw blood and test for antibodies. It has claimed to have results in as little as 10-15 minutes.
"If their concern is, 'I believe I might have it right now, I got a little bit of a headache, I've got a little sore throat, I'm concerned I have Corona,' this is not the right test for them," Chief Medical Officer at Eisenhower Health, Dr. Alan Williamson said.
Williamson couldn't speak on the test Fleur Women's Health was offering.
"If you have antibodies it means you were almost certainly exposed," Dr. Williamson said.
He did say the antibody tests have become more prevalent.
"It's not looking at the virus itself. It's not looking for a current infection, it's looking for whether you were exposed to the virus and developed an infection."
He emphasized that they are completely different than nasal swab tests, which are designed to determine if someone is actually sick with Coronavirus.
KESQ did some research to find out more. The FDA has approved at least 32 tests kits for COVID-19 so far. They could be found here:
The manufacturer we found was on another list of companies that have notified the FDA that they are distributing their products. That list could be found here:
"Normally it takes typically years for devices to go through the FDA approval process, but because of the COVID-19 virus situation, they are issuing emergency use authorizations for a number of different types of tests," Dr. Williamson said.
Dr. Williamson said to check with your doctor to determine what kind of test might be right for you, if any.
"There are circumstances where it's important to know that perhaps you were exposed to coronavirus and you have an infection, and particularly if you have only the early antibodies, there is a possibility that you could still be infectious," Dr. Williamson said.
If someone's test were to come out positive for antibodies, Dr. Williamson said it is just too early to tell if they are protected in the future.
"There's not enough time and data yet for us to understand what that means in terms of your immunity in reality to this virus," Dr. Williamson said.
