Free COVID-19 Antibody Testing: Desert Healthcare District
COACHELLA VALLEY, CA — Rapid COVID-19 antibody tests funded by the Desert Healthcare District and Foundation are being offered to people across the Coachella Valley, it was announced Thursday.
The nonprofit said the first of 10,000 tests are being put to use at 10 sites (see list below). The tests are free and available to all, according to the organization.
The antibody test requires a small blood sample and produces results in about 10 minutes.
"The test checks for a type of antibody called immunoglobulin G (IgG) that is the result of past exposure to COVID-19, also known as the novel coronavirus," the nonprofit said. "The human body produces IgG antibodies as part of the immune response to the virus. It usually takes about 10 to 18 days to produce enough antibodies to be detected in the blood."
It’s unclear if those antibodies can provide protection (immunity) against getting infected again with COVID-19.
Antibody tests should not be used to diagnose someone as being currently sick with COVID-19. County and state officials are currently operating 14 test sites countywide that can determine if you are currently infected. Read more:
Dr. Conrado Bárzaga, CEO of Desert Healthcare District, said the antibody test is a very important tool for helping better establish the real rate of infection in the community and determine who might be able to return to work safely when the economy reopens.
"From a public health perspective, the findings will also help the District develop plans for dealing with COVID-19 over the coming months, particularly as it relates to the 80,000 people in the valley who don’t have medical insurance," the doctor said.
The District’s Board of Directors approved allocating $350,000 for the rapid antibody tests at a special meeting on April 3.
The three federally qualified health centers that are conducting the tests — Borrego Health, Desert AIDS Project and Clinicas de Salud del Pueblo — ran internal validation studies of the tests and confirmed their accuracy, according to the District.
“This test does not replace the current nasal/oral swabs we are still doing to detect symptomatic contagious patients, but if you were sick with a COVID-like illness earlier in the season and did not get tested, this could confirm if it was COVID-19,” said Dr. Christopher Foltz, an infectious disease physician at Desert AIDS Project in Palm Springs.
Information about the tests is available on the District’s Coachella Valley COVID-19 Resource Center page at www.dhcd.org. Information on the site is in English, Spanish and Purépecha, the language of indigenous people originally from the Mexican state of Michoacán who make up a large part of the farm-working community in the eastern Coachella Valley.
New COVID-19 rapid antibody testing sites:
Eastern Coachella Valley
Borrego Health, City of Coachella, Twentynine Palms Band of Mission Indians, Desert Healthcare District, Riverside County, 85365 Dillon Road in Coachella, just west of SR 86, south of Spotlight 29 Casino; (833) 624-1097. By appointment 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays
Centro Medico Oasis, 88775 76 Avenue, Suite 1, Thermal; 760-397-2501 Drive-up and on-site testing 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday
Centro Medico Coachella, 55497 Van Buren St., Thermal; 760-399-4526. Drive-up testing 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday; on-site testing 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday- Friday
Martha’s Village Clinic, 83791 Date Ave., Indio; 760-391-6000. Drive-up testing 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Tuesday/Thursday; on-site testing 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday/Wednesday/Friday (closed noon to 1 p.m.)
Clinicas de Salud del Pueblo, 50249 Cesar Chavez Street, Unit K, Coachella; 760-393-0555 Clinic testing by appointment 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday
Clinicas de Salud del Pueblo, 91275 66th Avenue, Suite 500, Mecca; 760-396-1249 Clinic testing by appointment 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday
Western Coachella Valley
Centro Medico, 69175 Ramon Road, Bldg. A, Cathedral City; 760-321-6776 Drive-up testing 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Friday
Desert Hot Springs Community Health Center, 66675 Pierson Blvd., Desert Hot Springs; 760-676-5240. Drive-up and on-site testing 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday
Stonewall Medical Center, 68555 Ramon Road, Cathedral City; 760-507-3310 Drive up testing, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Tuesday/Thursday
Desert AIDS Project, 1695 N. Sunrise Way, Palm Springs; 760-992-0407 On-site testing by appointment 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday
This article originally appeared on the Palm Desert Patch
