As most of you know by now there are people concerned with the effectiveness of the COVID-19 test. We want to help you understand what is going on.

The COVID-19 virus, of the coronavirus family, is a brand-new virus this year. So, any testing for this virus had to be researched and put through trials until an effective one could be mass-produced. After that, labs across the country had to re-gear and adopt the new detection so that it could be administered to the general population on a limited basis. Now we are seeing that it is easier for people in almost all communities to be able to receive a COVID-19 test if you qualify, there are still a limited amount available, but once again, better than it was.

As the health community does more research and testing, the effectiveness should get better. Right now, we are at a 70-80% effective rate. So, for every 10 people that actually have COVID-19, we can identify 7-8 of them. This is far better than where we were just months ago. Also, more places are able to test more people.

To put this into perspective, the flu virus testing we provide is 96% + effective, so for every 100 people infected we can identify 96 or better, of them as having the virus. This was not always the case. In the 1990’s they invented a swab test for the flu. At best estimates that test was only 50-70% effective. Before that, there was a blood test with better results but it never gained in popularity. In the past 25 years, we have made great strides to increase the capability and the ease for the patient to take it.

Now back to the COVID-19 test, it is not as accurate as some people might want, but it will get better as our understanding of this brand-new virus improves. The medical community is pushing hard to increase the effectiveness of this test, and improvements have already been made. We want everyone to know that this is constantly talked about and new ideas for detection are already underway.

WesTex Urgent Care is fortunate enough to offer a “Point of Care” test for COVID-19 with test results in less than 30 minutes. It has the same effectiveness as the previous test but with a much faster result time. These are new, so they are limited, but if they are widely accepted there will continue to be more available. Changes like these will continue and improve the way we test for COVID-19. We desire a more effective test for our community as well, but we realize that 70-80% is far better than what the flu test was when it started.

If you have any additional questions about coronavirus testing, please contact us . We are happy to help.