BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) - WellNow Urgent Care has begun coronavirus testing at 12 sites in Erie County without the need for an appointment.
In a release by the company, they said they are offering a nasal swab and a blood antibody test for coronavirus.
Individuals who have coronavirus or recently had it are eligible to receive the test and they said you do not need to make an appointment to receive the test.
“Bringing both types of COVID-19 testing to our communities in Western New York is a top priority right now,” WellNow Urgent Care President John Radford said in a statement. “It’s our responsibility to make sure our communities can confidently and safely get the care and answers they need, especially now. No one should be afraid to get care.”
Antibody testing will determine an individuals immunity to the virus and help identify potential plasma donors.
The results of the tests will be returned in about two days.
Problems with its rollout
Multiple people have reported to WBEN about issues related to WellNow's announcement, including some being turned away because they were not essential workers. Others described the experience as taking several hours to complete.
"To clarify, our testing is available to anyone and everyone," WellNow said in a statement. "You don’t have to a healthcare provider, firefighter, or work in any other essential service role to get tested. We apologize for any confusion created and any inconvenience to our patients and communities. We are seeing unexpected overwhelming demand. The good news is that our supplier agreed to double the amount of molecular/PCR tests we have, and we will continue to working together to increase supply to match demand over time. In the meantime, we are still able to perform antibody testing."
WellNow did not say why people were turned away. We are also trying to learn exactly how many tests they can provide.