FAIRFIELD, Ohio — A Fairfield company is changing up its business model to help meet the community’s demand for COVID-19 testing. Butler County doctors said the need for testing sites isn’t going away any time soon.
The parking lot at DNA Diagnostics Center has signs up to point out the facility’s new testing site. Cars line up with people waiting to have a rapid antigen test administered.
“To give people and the patients the answers they need when they need them,” DNA Diagnostics Center CEO Scott Cramer said of the site's main purpose.
Patients who visit the site can get test results back in 10 to 15 minutes. The company started offering rapid COVID-19 tests because they found many people couldn’t find a testing site.
“When you go anywhere, whether its southwest Ohio or anywhere in the United States, all you hear is ‘we didn’t get our test results quickly,’” Cramer said.
The test costs $99 and you can sign up for appointments on the company’s website. Cramer said they don’t bill health insurance providers directly, and coverage would be up to the patient’s plan.
“The testing, it’s still of vital importance,” UC West Chester Emergency Department medical director Dr. Sanjay Shewakramani said. “People will be more likely to self-quarantine if they know they’re truly positive.”
At this stage of the pandemic, with much of the attention shifting to the rollout of the vaccine – health officials and doctors said it’s still important for the public to have access to testing sites.
“We still have the same indications and reasons for testing, if you have symptoms and with potential new variants that are likely in our system, testing is also important,” Mercy Health chief clinical officer Dr. Steve Feagins said.
The rapid antigen test can detect the new variants of COVID-19, and helps alert officials and hospitals to emerging hotspots.
“When we see cases start to go up, it’s very helpful because we can start preparing,” Shewakramani said.
DNA Diagnostics Center will soon expand its operation to offer COVID-19 PCR tests in addition to the rapid tests.
“When we looked around at the demand going on and the need that was not being met, we said, ‘why shouldn’t we do this and certainly help out our community, our neighbors,’” Cramer said.
More information on the different types of COVID-19 tests can be found here.
