Did you have a bad cold or the flu a few months back but tested negative for the flu? Do you now suspect you might have actually had COVID-19? If so you can now be tested here in Texarkana for the COVID-19 antibodies to find out.

Healthcare Express is now offering an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) COVID-19 antibody test starting today, Monday, April 27.
According to their press release, when our body fights an infection, it creates proteins, called antibodies, that help your immune system fight off the virus. Those antibodies remain after the infection is gone and can tell you exactly which infections your body has been fighting. Diagnostic testing for people experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 can only tell someone if they’re currently infected, but the new antibody tests offered at HealthCARE Express, however, reveals whether someone may have been infected in the past.
Antibody testing, also called serology testing, is used to identify the presence of an immune response to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. It is a critical component of our nation’s response to the pandemic. These tests are only intended to detect IgG and IgM antibodies related to the virus. The test that is used tests two different antibodies: Immunoglobulin G (IgG) and Immunoglobulin M. IgG antibodies appear within 7-20 days of infection and can remain from 6 months to several years. IgM antibodies appear in the same timeframe as IgG, but their numbers peak after 80 days of infection and begin to fade away within 6 months of infection.
This test does not diagnose an active infection. For antibodies to be detected, you must be symptom-free (no fever or cough) for two weeks prior to testing. The test is a simple and easy blood test and results come back within 1-3 days. The antibody testing is most accurate for people who experienced symptoms of COVID-19 at least 14 days ago.
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