“It’s busy right now because of everything spiking up, so it’s been harder for people to go to CVS and Walgreens and pharmacies,” said Lonny Schwartz, DDC’s vice president of marketing. “If you can get in there (at a pharmacy), go. By all means, if you can get into your doctor and get the test done, go.”
Because this is a temporary concierge service, it’s not free, nor can it be reported to a client’s insurance company for reimbursement, Schwartz said. The cost of the rapid antigen test, which is a pass-through cost, is $59.
“It doesn’t cost us anything to keep it going, but as things had spiked up we dropped prices,” he said, adding the company has worked to offer the tests to area businesses ― especially those who require employees to frequently travel.
As of Monday, the state is reporting that more than 2 million COVID-19 total cases in Ohio since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020. Nearly 30,000 Ohioans have died as a result of COVID-19, the Ohio health department reported Monday. Nationwide, the country has seen more than 55.1 million total cases, and more than 824,000 deaths, according to the New York Times COVID-19 tracker. Ohio, which has 55.1% of its population fully vaccinated, ranks eighth in total cases among states, and 39th in vaccinated population.
The rapid antigen test can have results within 15 minutes, and DNA Diagnostics’ PCR test, which at other facilities takes a couple of days for results, will have results within 24 hours. Schwartz said in some cases, those PCR test results could come back on the same day as the test since DDC’s lab is onsite.
“We already do a variety of tests, and the PCR tests is a very simple test and very similar to tests we run and provide in the DNA space,” Schwartz said. “It wasn’t very difficult for us and take and develop an assay and provide it as a service.”
PCR tests offered by DNA Diagnostics, however, are $99.
People can sign up for the test at DDC’s COVID-19 website, covid-testing.dnacenter.com.
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