Antibody Testing Could Help North Texans Learn If They Already Recovered From Coronavirus

Two thousand COVID-19 antibodies tests are scheduled to arrive in North Texas this week.

“The antibodies test is a finger-prick test that you can draw a little bit of blood,” Sneha Patel with Metroplex Medical Centres said. “Usually within 15 minutes, we will get a negative/positive for each of the antibodies.”

Metroplex Medical Centres will offer the testing in Fort Worth, Dallas and Plano starting Friday, April 17.

“What that means is it can let us know if you have had the virus or currently have the virus,” Patel said. “People who maybe thought that they had it several weeks ago – that’s the ideal candidate.”

There are many people in the region who had mild symptoms but could not get tested because most tests were reserved for people with severe symptoms or who had high-risk factors. Many were told to home-isolate for 14 days and treat symptoms.

Some now wonder if they had as COVID-19 infection and have now recovered.

“So, the issue is, what about all the people who have less symptoms and those that don’t have symptoms,” Patel said. “If we had that piece of information – would we be able to help keep people inside.”

 The information could give health officials a clearer picture of the true reach of infection in the community because the number of people who test positive for antibodies will be shared with the Centers for Disease Control.

“I’ve actually had people reach out to me asking if they could use the test for family members for people they know who are in the hospital on life support and if they are able to donate plasma,” Patel said. “Because they’ve already had it and they didn’t know that they had it – it could be something that is actually lifesaving.”

Testing Dates and Locations:

Visit: http://www.metroplexmedicalcentres.com/

FORT WORTH

April 17
Patients without symptoms
9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Patients with symptoms
2 p.m. – 4 p.m.
LOCATION:
320 East 1st St.

PLANO

April 18
Patients without symptoms
9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Patients with symptoms
2 p.m. – 4 p.m.
LOCATION:
4090 Mapleshade Lane

DALLAS

April 19
Patients without symptoms
9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Patients with symptoms
2 p.m. – 4 p.m.
LOCATION:
2701 South Hampton Rd.
Antibodies tests are $20