The CDC utilizes 3 tiers for detecting and monitoring the different variants of SARS-CoV-2. COVID Variants of Concern (VOC) is 1 of 3 different types of classification of the outbreak of a variant.
See also Variant of Interest and Variant of High Consequence.
The CDC utilizes 3 tiers for detecting and monitoring the different variants of SARS-CoV-2. COVID Variants of Interest is 1 of 3 different types of classification of the outbreak of a variant.
See also Variant of Concern and Variant of High Consequence.
The PCR Test is one of the most prominent COVID-19 tests. It provides one of the highest levels of detection for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
Getting a COVID-19 test at GS Labs is an easy and simple process.
Watch the video below to see a COVID-19 Rapid Test administered in Columbus, Ohio, plus some commonly asked questions answered by one of GS Labs’ nurses.
After you’ve been tested for COVID-19, regardless of the outcome, GS Labs wants to be sure you are staying safe.
The CDC recommends staying home. In most cases, many people can get through COVID-19 or other illnesses without medical care. It is recommended to stay home unless you must get medical care. Most importantly, be sure you stay in touch with your doctor, especially if you are having an emergency. Once you feel better, disinfect the area you spent your time.
This means that you were not infected at the time of your test. While this is great news, it does not mean you cannot get sick. You still may be exposed to the virus after being tested and if you do experience symptoms again, the CDC advises to go get tested.
To keep protecting yourself and others, it is best to continue to wear a mask, wash your hands often and keep 6 feet distance between yourself and others. This is something to practice if you did test negative and after you have finished quarantining if you did test positive.
To keep yourself informed about to ensure you are practicing all safety measures, GS Labs recommends following the CDC Guidelines. Another way you can help those around you, is by sharing places and sources for them to get tested. At GS Labs we are working to provide resources to help you and those are you stay informed on safety practices as well as testing for your community. If anyone you know might need testing, help direct them to a good place to go.
As a reminder, the CDC is still learning about reinfection of COVID-19. While it is still rare, there have been cases of reinfection reported. Due to this, if you have been infected and are showing symptoms of COVID-19 it is best to get tested to be safe along with continuing to practice best safety precautions.
With the continued effects of the COVID-19 pandemic keeping people at home, at-home COVID-19 test kits are becoming increasingly viable for many people. There are plenty of benefits that exist with an In-Home, Self-Administered test and frequent testing is a benefit to an individual and their community. Taking a look at some of the differences between in-home COVID tests vs. professional lab tests, there are some items that may make you want to reconsider prior to ordering an in-home test kit.
Professional COVID-19 testing labs, like GS Labs, utilize medically trained staff in the testing of patients. With Registered Nurses and other properly trained employees, as well as processes and procedures that have gone through strict approvals, your tests are conducted at a level required to provide quality results. There are plenty of opportunities to contaminate a swab test or to improperly collect the sample, which would provide inaccurate results, from handling the swab to actually making sure it gathers enough sample, to placing it in a container to ship out. To an untrained person, a lot of these contaminant contact points may not be obvious, but trained staff know to be on the look out for these and work to ensure quality throughout.
Mail-in results can only go as fast as the post office or shipping company can get them. Whether it be overnight or First-Class, test results at their best are “Next Day”. GS Labs Rapid Antigen Test can provide you with quality results in 20 minutes or less. You don’t have to worry about getting i
At a time when postal bandwidth being constantly being strained during COVID-19’s, delays are often frequent with many shipping transactions.
It is rare for an insurance to cover the cost of an in-home COVID-19 test kit, making it a purely out-of-pocket cost. Professional laboratory testing, like GS Labs, can be booked through insurance.
So whether you’re looking at the benefits of in-home testing as just the convenience factor, take into consideration some of this short list of benefits which include professional care, rapid results and insurance coverage, among many others, when making your decision.
With GS Labs testing, you can schedule your COVID-19 test online, show up at your scheduled time, get tested right in your car and have your results back within 20 minutes. With same-day appointments available, you can get in, get tested and get your results before an at-home test kit can even get sent to you!
With the increases in COVID-19 around the US, it’s best to stay up-to-date with news on the virus outbreak across the country and in your community.
Here are some of the top websites for Coronavirus tracking:
Worldometers provides one of the easiest to view COVID-19 numbers by continent, country, state and more. Tracking shows current-day, yesterday and COVID numbers from up to 2 days ago.
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
John Hopkins University and Medicine is also one of the better sources for COVID-19 data and news. One of the best features here is the map/plotting feature to help visualize outbreaks.
https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html
The CDC’s website data tracker focuses on clearly laying out the affects of COVID-19 on communities, and provides quick resources on COVID-19 safety and testing.
https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/
There are plenty of other websites out there that help to track the spread and effects of COVID-19, including local news outlets and more.
According to the CDC, there are many symptoms of COVID-19, some of which may seem similar to that of the common cold and range in severity. Some of the most common symptoms include:
With some similarities to the common cold, COVID-19 tests can help identify if symptoms are or are not from Coronavirus. There are two important designations with COVID-19 tests, which include viral tests (if you currently have the COVID-19 Virus) or an antibody test (if you previously had the virus).
If a person is experiencing more severe symptoms, the CDC advises them to seek immediate medical assistance. More severe symptoms include:
With the rapid increase of COVID-19 cases in the United States, our communities, healthcare system and way of life are being affected. As a result, COVID-19 is a constant topic in the news and there are many COVID-19 related terms to understand.
Molecular and Antigen COVID-19 tests are very similar in that they both help to diagnose (or not) active coronavirus infections, meaning the person currently has COVID-19. The primary difference between the two is speed. Antibody tests, however, determine if a person has had COVID-19 in the past.
The FDA summarizes the differences of these three COVID-19 tests in an easy-to-read way:
Source: FDA Coronavirus 2019 Disease Basics
In need of a COVID-19 Testing Facility? GS Labs Testing provides all three coronavirus tests at facilities in Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, Washington and more, with facilities opening every day to help communities identify COVID-19.
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GS Labs has provided COVID-19 testing in multiple communities around the US. We rapidly expanded our testing facilities to meet the growing needs of cities through the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Sat. & Sun.: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
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