Monterey lab offers COVID-19 antibody tests to public

MONTEREY, Calif. (KION) UPDATED 4/21/20 ARCpoint Labs of Monterey Bay is now offering COVID-19 antibody tests to the public through a blood test.

“It’s just like any routine blood draw you might get,” ARCpoint Labs of Monterey Bay Co-owner Spenser Smith said.

The test looks for the antibodies that your body produces to fight off the virus, or your body’s response, rather than detecting the virus itself. This means it won't detect it if you currently have COVID-19.

The company initially offered a finger-prick version of the antibody test that gave same day results in less than 20 minutes. Smith told KION the reported accuracy of the two tests is quite similar, but the blood draw has some more advantages. He said it's more accurate and has earlier detection.

“That offers a lot of advantages in terms of the consistency of the test, the reliability of the results and just that fact that this is a test that’s performed in an accredited facility,” Smith said.

The results do take longer though than the finger-prick test and come back in about three to five days.

They are administering up to 90 appointments a day for the test which costs $175. Smith said this antibody test’s detection period is about 5 to 10 days after exposure, rather than looking for a current case, like nasal swab tests administered at hospitals.

But soon you may be able to take a COVID-19 test at home.

LabCorp's COVID-19 at-home test kit received FDA Emergency Use Authorization.

Here’s how the kit works: customers collect their own nasal swab specimens at home and send it off to a lab. It costs about $120. The results can be viewed online and will confirm whether or not you are infected. The at-home tests will be available in the coming weeks.

Local health experts said the at-home tests could expand testing capabilities, but have concerns about accuracy.

“There’s the issue of specimen collection" Public Health Laboratory Director Donna Ferguson said. "Is the person collecting enough material so that virus is detected?”

Ferguson said there's the possibility the sample may not be taken properly by the person doing the swab. She said there could also be problems during shipping. All of these could lead to a false negative.

Ferguson said the at-home tests could be useful but its important to understand their limitations. She recommends getting the testing done at a health care facility.

The antibody testing is available to the public now at ARCpoint Labs. To sign up for an appointment, visit the lab's website here.

PREVIOUS STORY 4/20/20:

ARCpoint Labs of Monterey Bay is now offering COVID-19 antibody tests to the public.

Starting Monday, the lab is offering up to 90 appointments per day.

"We won't be able to do the finger-stick version of the antibody test any longer, but we switched to a version of the test that uses a whole tube of blood from the arm, is more accurate and sophisticated, has earlier detection, and is considered by doctors and health professionals to be a big step forward in medical usefulness," said ARCpoint of Monterey Bay co-owner and lab director Spenser Smith.

The downside of the tests is that they take longer, cannot be done in a drive-thru setting and are more expensive, according to Smith, but can be more reliable than finger-prick tests.

KION spoke to Smith earlier in the month about how antibody tests work.

“This test looks, in your blood, for those antibodies that your body produces to fight off the virus,” Smith said.

He said, it is not meant for diagnosing people with the coronavirus at that time. It is ideally meant for someone who thinks they may have had it and recovered.

To sign up for an appointment, visit the lab's website here.