I am not sure if this has been posted, I'm sure something about has been already, but if you want an antibody test you can go to either Lab Corp or Quest labs and schedule a test nearest to you. It's a 15 min test and I have mine scheduled for tmrw. $49 w insurance or $110 without

There are other test centers but I wanted to just post these 2 big nationwide labs
FYI

Wow insurance pays for it? I assumed not. Was planning to go to a lab in Sugar Land that charge 175. I' have a huge deductible, so it probably doesn't matter

Hopefully a doc will chime in on this question: which labs provide the most accurate tests?

Do you have a link? Quest looks like they require a doctor prescription for the antibody test.

Also curious on where/how to do this.

From both testing labs:

Quote:

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Positive results may be due to past or present infection with non-SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus strains, such as coronavirus HKU1, NL63, OC43, or 229E.

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Brother did it today at Woodlands. Got results within the hour. Negative, he was bummed.

chris1515 said:

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Do you have a link? Quest looks like they require a doctor prescription for the antibody test.

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here you go, just click on Covid Testing and it will ask for your zip code... you can schedule your test time right online..

https://appointment.questdiagnostics.com/patient/confirmation

Click on "Schedule and Appointment" and it walks you though getting one done near your zip code

also, no Dr prescription needed... some companies require that. I think Quest Labs has a Dr present when you take the test.. not really sure that means anything though, the test has more to do with taking a small finger poke blood sample.. I believe the test is done on the same Quest lab machines that test for the flu

Unfortunately there just isn't enough evidence for me to recommend this to anyone. Antibodies to non-novel coronavirus is reported to cause a false positives, and I saw a non-novel coronavirus patient just 2 weeks ago. The false positive rate I have seen for these tests is somewhere around 0.5-1.5%. If you are in an area of low disease prevalence (which most on this board are), your local disease prevalence is likely no more than 1%, meaning without ever having symptoms or a known contact, your pre-test probability of having novel-coronavirus is actually lower than 1%. This means that a positive test is actually more likely to be a false positive than a true positive in a low prevalence area.

Dr. Not Yet Dr. Ag said:

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Unfortunately there just isn't enough evidence for me to recommend this to anyone. Antibodies to non-novel coronavirus is reported to cause a false positives, and I saw a non-novel coronavirus patient just 2 weeks ago. The false positive rate I have seen for these tests is somewhere around 0.5-1.5%. If you are in an area of low disease prevalence (which most on this board are), your local disease prevalence is likely no more than 1%, meaning without ever having symptoms or a known contact, your pre-test probability of having novel-coronavirus is actually lower than 1%. This means that a positive test is actually more likely to be a false positive than a true positive in a low prevalence area.

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the $110 is for a piece of mind.. not using my insurance either, just kind of interested in knowing even if theres a chance its incorrect... I was sick with fever and severe back pain in late Feb early March.. I have never had lower back pain like that, sharp pain that made me almost lose my balance...it may explain what the pain was from? fever 3-4 days and fatigue but nothing to keep me away from work.. went to work the entire time I felt bad.. I had the flu a few years ago, it was worse than what ever I got in early March

That's fair enough, as long as you know that a positive result does not necessarily mean you actually had it.

Dr. Not Yet Dr. Ag said:

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That's fair enough, as long as you know that a positive result does not necessarily mean you actually had it.

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This has been the hardest part to reconcile for me. Most non-medical people expect a test to tell you an answer 100% accuracy. It's really hard for people to wrap their minds around the fact that these antibody tests are not very accurate in their current form. And then so many people offer these tests, which makes one question their motives.

Ribbed Paultz said:

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Dr. Not Yet Dr. Ag said:

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That's fair enough, as long as you know that a positive result does not necessarily mean you actually had it.

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This has been the hardest part to reconcile for me. Most non-medical people expect a test to tell you an answer 100% accuracy. It's really hard for people to wrap their minds around the fact that these antibody tests are not very accurate in their current form. And then so many people offer these tests, which makes one question their motives.

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99% accuracy is "not very accurate"? And lab testing companies have bad motives, like offering people tests that they willingly pay for?

Ribbed Paultz said:

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Dr. Not Yet Dr. Ag said:

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That's fair enough, as long as you know that a positive result does not necessarily mean you actually had it.

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This has been the hardest part to reconcile for me. Most non-medical people expect a test to tell you an answer 100% accuracy. It's really hard for people to wrap their minds around the fact that these antibody tests are not very accurate in their current form. And then so many people offer these tests, which makes one question their motives.

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If the guy who posted that these tests have a 0.5%-1.5% false positive rate is correct, that is a very accurate test.

fullback44 said:

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chris1515 said:

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Do you have a link? Quest looks like they require a doctor prescription for the antibody test.

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here you go, just click on Covid Testing and it will ask for your zip code... you can schedule your test time right online..

https://appointment.questdiagnostics.com/patient/confirmation

Click on "Schedule and Appointment" and it walks you though getting one done near your zip code

also, no Dr prescription needed... some companies require that. I think Quest Labs has a Dr present when you take the test.. not really sure that means anything though, the test has more to do with taking a small finger poke blood sample.. I believe the test is done on the same Quest lab machines that test for the flu

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antibody testing details:

• Blood test
• For patients who have not experienced COVID-19 symptoms or have been symptom-free for 10 days
• Antibodies begin to become detectable 7 to 14 days after COVID-19 symptoms appear
• Need an order from your doctor
• Can get tested at a Quest location by appointment (if symptom-free for 10 days)
• Results typically ready within 3-4 days
• Get results through MyQuest
• Also available to purchase through Quest Direct without a doctor visit