Premier Health, Fidelity Health Care, CompuNet, UD Partner on COVID-19 IgG Antibody Testing Initiative
DAYTON, Ohio (May 1, 2020) – Beginning Monday, May 4, local residents who drive through the specimen collection site at UD Arena now have an affordable option to learn through Moraine-based CompuNet Clinical Laboratories if they had a past infection of COVID-19.
That’s because COVID-19 IgG antibody testing will now be offered without a doctor’s order by CompuNet, in conjunction with Premier Health, Fidelity Health Care, and the University of Dayton.
COVID-19 IgG antibody testing, known as the SARS CoV2 IgG antibody test, provides valuable information to people who might be interested in donating convalescent plasma through the Community Blood Center to help patients currently fighting COVID-19, or who are curious if an unexplained respiratory illness they had earlier this year actually was COVID-19.
The test became available to health care providers in the region on Monday, April 27.
About the Test
The antibody test is performed on a patient’s blood specimen and will detect the IgG antibody to SARS-CoV2. If detected, this likely indicates that a person was previously infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. An IgG antibody is a protein that the body produces in the latter stages of infection and may remain for some time after a person has recovered.
The Abbott test being used by CompuNet recently received Emergency Use Authorization from the Food & Drug Administration.
Antibody testing is not for individuals who believe they have an active COVID-19 infection. If an individual has COVID-19 symptoms, they should contact a health care provider who will determine the need for a COVID-19 screening test.
“Premier Health and CompuNet are pleased to expand access to antibody testing in our community,” said Teresa Williams, chief operating officer at CompuNet. “This is one of Abbott’s newest testing platforms, allowing for hundreds of tests to be run in the course of one hour at CompuNet’s Moraine core laboratory, giving providers and patients critical information about their COVID-19 virus antibody status.”
An individual who would like to know if they have been previously infected with COVID-19 should either contact their health care provider to discuss the need for antibody testing or may visit the collection site at UD Arena to order the test.
“As our state and national leaders continue to emphasize the need for testing to reopen our country, we are pleased to add another critically important test to the range of COVID-19 testing available locally to patients,” said Joe Allen, MD, regional medical director with Premier Health. “Our goal is to expand access to providers and to individuals through this partnership, as well as help patients answer questions they might have about whether they were potentially infected at some point with COVID-19.”
Please note that testing positive for the IgG antibody does not necessarily imply immunity from COVID-19. Whatever the result, individuals should continue to follow federal, state, and local public health guidance for social distancing and other recommended behaviors during the pandemic.
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