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$119 paid upfront online, OR if you want your insurance to cover it, it seems you call your doctor to set it up and there's a possiblity a HSA/FSA might work too (can't imagine why not).
"...Individuals can have COVID-19 testing fully paid by their health plan or the government, with no out of pocket cost, when billed to the health plan or the government. If you are looking for that No-Cost option, contact your health care provider...."
"...You may be able to submit the expenses associated with this testing to your Health Savings Account, Flexible Spending Account, Health Reimbursement Account, or similar account for reimbursement. Please check with your health account administrator...."
"...This blood test checks for a type of antibody called immunoglobulin G (IgG) that is the result of past or recent exposure to COVID-19, also known as the novel coronavirus (this is not a test for an active infection). The human body produces IgG antibodies as part of the immune response to the virus. It usually takes around 10 to 18 days to produce enough antibodies to be detected in the blood...."
"... This test may be helpful if you:
Have had a positive test for COVID-19 and it has been at least 7 days and you want to know if you have detectable levels of IgG antibodies
Have not experienced a fever or felt feverish in the last 3 days
Have not experienced new or worsening symptoms of COVID-19 in the past 10 days: loss of smell or taste, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, feeling weak or lethargic, lightheadedness or dizziness, vomiting or diarrhea, slurred speech, and/or seizures
This test may NOT be helpful if you are:
Feeling sick or have had a fever within the last 3 full days, please contact a healthcare provider
Trying to diagnose COVID-19, please contact a healthcare provider
Less than 7 days since being tested for and diagnosed with COVID-19
Directly exposed to COVID-19 in the past 14 days
A person with a compromised immune system, a condition that makes it difficult to fight infections
This test does not require fasting and is only available for persons 18 years of age or older."
Here's one person's experience with it. He doesn't give his results out, but at least you can see what it's like in this time of distancing - seems too, they were late with the results Lastly, although the Quest page I just looked at said $119, he seems to have paid $129. Dunno what to say about that: https://www.zdnet.com/article/i-got-...t-was-strange/
"... The phlebotomist promised them within 24 to 48 hours.48 hours went by. No results. On the third day, however, an email telling me the answer was ready. I went to the Quest site and clicked on the verdict, with my wife peering at it over my shoulder.
She instantly snorted. This time, less than elegantly, I thought...."
As for their being "late" with the results, I would expect that for a while at least. They can't go around offering zillions of tests nationwide and expect to have enough lab techs (or whatever they're called) available to run the tests and report back their findings all within 24-48 hours. Actually, I'd be more concerned that my sample sat around and became stale before they were able to even run the tests, resulting in inaccurate results.
Wondering if "This test may be helpful if you" thought you might have had COVID-19 a month or more ago but didn't go to the doctor so were never tested.
Wondering if "This test may be helpful if you" thought you might have had COVID-19 a month or more ago but didn't go to the doctor so were never tested.
How will you use that information?
1. If you're not in an area that's been hard-hit by COVID-19, there's an excellent chance that a positive antibody test is actually a false positive. (And most parts of the US have NOT been hard-hit yet!)
2. No one knows if a true positive antibody test result to COVID-19 actually means you have immunity. In some people who test positive (reportedly up to 1/3), the antibodies in their blood do not destroy the virus in a cell culture, strongly suggesting that their antibodies are not effective in providing immunity (they are not "neutralizing antibodies") (see this paper for more information). And no one knows yet how long any antibody-mediated immunity to COVID-19 actually lasts: it could be weeks, could be months, could be years. We just don't have the data yet to know for sure.
Here's some more reading which you might find helpful:
2. No one knows if a true positive antibody test result to COVID-19 actually means you have immunity. In some people who test positive (reportedly up to 1/3), the antibodies in their blood do not destroy the virus in a cell culture, strongly suggesting that their antibodies are not effective in providing immunity (they are not "neutralizing antibodies") (see this paper for more information). And no one knows yet how long any antibody-mediated immunity to COVID-19 actually lasts: it could be weeks, could be months, could be years. We just don't have the data yet to know for sure.
If exposure to CoV-19 does not provide lasting immunity, it would be a unique virus indeed, although it might not help you in the future if the bug mutates like influenza: this year's antibody reactions won't necessarily prevent flu next year cuz the bug changes from year to year. (Can anyone name a strain of virus which will cause a repeat illness? I don't know any.)
More importantly, there's dozens of Ab tests out there now, and the specificity and sensitivity isn't well known for most of them, and pretty lousy for many of them. Eg- you may test + on one company's test, but it's measuring some exposure you had to a related virus, not CoV-19 itself. Analogy-- it's one thing for you to point to a picture and your 2 y/o correctly says "car", but another for the kid to be able to tell a Ford from a Chevy.
Remember, these tests are being rushed to market without the usual, longer period of clinical trials to verify their effectiveness.
If exposure to CoV-19 does not provide lasting immunity, it would be a unique virus indeed, although it might not help you in the future if the bug mutates like influenza: this year's antibody reactions won't necessarily prevent flu next year cuz the bug changes from year to year. (Can anyone name a strain of virus which will cause a repeat illness? I don't know any.)
I can! The four strains of human coronavirus that cause colds don't produce lifelong immunity; the immunity they initially induce fades away after a year or so. So you can catch them again and again and again... They are the gift that keeps on giving.
"However, on the basis of findings for other human coronavirus (OC43 and 229E) infections, it is known that immune protection is not long-lasting [6–8]."
(I'm sure a good PubMed search could pull up more references, but I'm feeling lazy tonight.)
But if COVID-19 produces immunity that lasts for at least a year, then a vaccine is doable. Might need a yearly booster, but that's hardly a problem; we could even combine it with that year's flu vaccine.
If exposure to CoV-19 does not provide lasting immunity, it would be a unique virus indeed, although it might not help you in the future if the bug mutates like influenza: this year's antibody reactions won't necessarily prevent flu next year cuz the bug changes from year to year. (Can anyone name a strain of virus which will cause a repeat illness? I don't know any.
Common cold. A coronavirus. Edit: someone beat me.
they don't identify whose tests they are using. but they have this nice, generic statement about...something?
Question 3. How does Quest Diagnostics ensure that the serologic assays are accurate?
Quest Diagnostics ensures that tests offered for SARS-CoV-2 IgG are highly specific and have validated accuracy:
We use laboratory-based immunoassays from manufacturers who have demonstrated robust validation of their kits. Highlights of the manufacturers’ validation include:
Clinical performance of approximately 90% to 100% (assessed as percent agreement of serology results on known COVID-19 PCR positive cases).
Specificity of approximately 99% to 100%. This was assessed by performing cross-reactivity studies utilizing serum samples positive for antibodies to other respiratory viruses, as well as panels of samples from pre-COVID times (2010, 2017, and 2019).4,5
We verify the performance characteristics of the kits by doing CLIA/CAP-required in-laboratory validations using stringent acceptability criteria for precision, reproducibility, accuracy, method comparison, cross-reactivity, and clinical performance before starting patient testing.
also, this seems sort of weasely:
Question 2. What is the US Food and Drug Administration(FDA) policy for commercial manufacturers and laboratory development/use of serology tests for SARS-CoV-2?
The FDA does not intend to object to the development and distribution by commercial manufacturers, or development and use by laboratories, of serology tests to identify antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, where the test has been validated, notification is provided to FDA, and information along the lines of the following is included in the test reports2:
This test has not been reviewed by the FDA.
Negative results do not rule out SARS-CoV-2 infection, particularly in those who have been in contact with the virus. Follow-up testing with amolecular diagnostic should be considered to rule out infection in these individuals.
Results from antibody testing should not be used as the sole basis to diagnose or exclude SARS-CoV-2 infection or to inform infection status.
Positive results may be due to past or present infection with non-SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus strains, such as coronavirus HKU1, NL63, OC43, or 229E.
The FDA issued a letter for healthcare providers on the use of serological (antibody) tests for COVID-19 on April 17, recommending continued use of serological tests, as appropriate, with awareness of their limitations.3 Refer to Question 9 for more information about the cross-reactivity due to past or present infection with other coronaviruses.
at this point we don't have an answer to the immunity question. would it be unusual to not confer immunity? sure. unheard of? no
I can! The four strains of human coronavirus that cause colds don't produce lifelong immunity; the immunity they initially induce fades away after a year or so. So you can catch them again and again and again... They are the gift that keeps on giving.
"However, on the basis of findings for other human coronavirus (OC43 and 229E) infections, it is known that immune protection is not long-lasting [6–8]."
(I'm sure a good PubMed search could pull up more references, but I'm feeling lazy tonight.)
But if COVID-19 produces immunity that lasts for at least a year, then a vaccine is doable. Might need a yearly booster, but that's hardly a problem; we could even combine it with that year's flu vaccine.
You are not immune from hepatitis C if you are cured. If you get HPV, you don’t have immunity for very long at all and can catch it again.
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Lastly, although the Quest page I just looked at said $119, he seems to have paid $129. Dunno what to say about that: 
