By Ryan Yousefi
Coral Springs residents can now have a self-administered COVID-19 test kit delivered directly to their home, with results available in under five days.
Medical lab juggernaut LabCorp recently began offering a COVID-19 home test kit called Pixel that is delivered overnight to patients’ homes. The at-home tests were approved by the FDA back in April and are free of charge, even to those without insurance.
Those who would like to utilize the LabCorp at-home option must first answer a short survey indicating why they are requesting a test. Following the answers, approval is given, and the test is shipped out the same day.
“This is the type of test for COVID-19 that is specifically looking for the virus in a specimen,” Dr. Brian Caveney, president of diagnostics at LabCorp, said. “We look for the genomic sequence of SARS-CoV-2, which lets us know you had indeed had it in your nose when you did the swab, and therefore you have COVID-19.”
The process of administering the test is quite simple: You swipe a swab provided in the kit around the inside of both nostrils, place it inside a tube within the kit, and follow the directions for mailing the specimen back to LabCorp. Both the delivery of the kit and the pre-paid envelope that rests inside are of the overnight variety, so no time is wasted in transit.
All specimens are left in a FedEx drop box, or, if a pick-up is scheduled, placed outside the home where FedEx will send a driver to pick it up.
Once you’ve tested yourself and mailed the kit back, all that is left to do is wait.
LabCorp says results take an estimated 2-5 days to be posted in your online portal. Initially, test results were available in 1-2 days, but the popularity of the test — LabCrop says over 130,000 a day are being sent out — have prolonged the wait time.
Even so, a five-day wait for results is a measured improvement over the wait some say they’ve endured. Coral Springs resident Randi Augenscht Ifcher said she was tested over ten days ago and has yet to receive her results.
“I [was] tested on July 16. I still have not gotten my results back,” Augenscht Ifcher wrote in the Coral Springs Talk Community Facebook group. She added that in addition to her long wait for results, she waited two hours to be tested at the Publix located at 11600 West Sample Road.
As far as the cost of the LabCorp test is concerned, most private insurance companies are required to cover the $119 cost. For those who do not have insurance, LabCorp says there is a fund that covers the cost. In the end, no one should have to pay.
The Pixel test is only meant to check for an active infection. If a patient has had the virus in the past, this test will not reveal a positive.
For more information on the Pixel LabCorp test and procedures, visit pixel.labcorp.com.
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Author Profile
- Ryan Yousefi has lived in Coral Springs for over 30 years. He has worked as a writer for multiple outlets over the years, including the Miami New Times where he has covered sports and culture since 2013. He holds a Bachelor's Degree and a Master's Degree in Business Healthcare Management from Western Governors University.
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