D.C. announces the opening of 8 new Covid-19 Testing Centers

[Anonymous]

So proud of my city.

On Tuesday, January 18, at 11 am, Mayor Muriel Bowser and DC Health will announce the opening of four new COVID Centers with four additional locations opening Monday, January 24.

There are now 36 free and open testing centers for 300,000 residents.

[Anonymous]

It's great that they are trying to make them accessible, but if it continues to take 3 to 5 days to get results, the tests are worthless, especially with Omicron.

What they really need to fix is the testing turnaround times.

If they opened 8 new testing centers with free rapid PCRs and results onsite, then we would actually make some progress.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's great that they are trying to make them accessible, but if it continues to take 3 to 5 days to get results, the tests are worthless, especially with Omicron.

What they really need to fix is the testing turnaround times.

If they opened 8 new testing centers with free rapid PCRs and results onsite, then we would actually make some progress.

Which is why they are handing out 4 free antigen tests per a day to every resident. You take a antigen get a positive and isolate while your PCR is processing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's great that they are trying to make them accessible, but if it continues to take 3 to 5 days to get results, the tests are worthless, especially with Omicron.

What they really need to fix is the testing turnaround times.

If they opened 8 new testing centers with free rapid PCRs and results onsite, then we would actually make some progress.

Yeah, I've given up on the take home ones. What good is it if I have wait several days for a result? I'll stick with Curative. Never had a result take more than 24 hrs.

[Anonymous]

Covid centers will also offer vaccines

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's great that they are trying to make them accessible, but if it continues to take 3 to 5 days to get results, the tests are worthless, especially with Omicron.

What they really need to fix is the testing turnaround times.

If they opened 8 new testing centers with free rapid PCRs and results onsite, then we would actually make some progress.

Which is why they are handing out 4 free antigen tests per a day to every resident. You take a antigen get a positive and isolate while your PCR is processing.

Yes and the antigen tests are great. I've taken advantage. But where they come up short is that many daycares require a PCR to return care after symptoms, and also often times antigen tests aren't catching Omicron right away, but PCR will. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad the city is trying. But the cost of standing up all of these PCR testing centers would be so much better spent on improving lab turnaround times or making rapid PCRs more widely available.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's great that they are trying to make them accessible, but if it continues to take 3 to 5 days to get results, the tests are worthless, especially with Omicron.

What they really need to fix is the testing turnaround times.

If they opened 8 new testing centers with free rapid PCRs and results onsite, then we would actually make some progress.

Which is why they are handing out 4 free antigen tests per a day to every resident. You take a antigen get a positive and isolate while your PCR is processing.

Yes and the antigen tests are great. I've taken advantage. But where they come up short is that many daycares require a PCR to return care after symptoms, and also often times antigen tests aren't catching Omicron right away, but PCR will. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad the city is trying. But the cost of standing up all of these PCR testing centers would be so much better spent on improving lab turnaround times or making rapid PCRs more widely available.

No state infrastructure, not even the federal government, is giving out PCR tests like candy. I'd be happy to be proved wrong. I think its only for those like White House administrators and the Security Council.

Even the tests Biden is sending out to households across the country starting today are antigen tests.

Now back to D.C. - there are states that aren't even giving out antigens - letting alone providing so many free at-home tests and opportunities to receive tests in extremely convenient and close-by locations. NOVA isn't even handing them out at all. Out of close in MD, only Montgomery County is handing out free at-home tests. We have the most intensive testing program in the country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's great that they are trying to make them accessible, but if it continues to take 3 to 5 days to get results, the tests are worthless, especially with Omicron.

What they really need to fix is the testing turnaround times.

If they opened 8 new testing centers with free rapid PCRs and results onsite, then we would actually make some progress.

Which is why they are handing out 4 free antigen tests per a day to every resident. You take a antigen get a positive and isolate while your PCR is processing.

Why are you even taking a pcr test if your antigen test gives you a positive?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's great that they are trying to make them accessible, but if it continues to take 3 to 5 days to get results, the tests are worthless, especially with Omicron.

What they really need to fix is the testing turnaround times.

If they opened 8 new testing centers with free rapid PCRs and results onsite, then we would actually make some progress.

Which is why they are handing out 4 free antigen tests per a day to every resident. You take a antigen get a positive and isolate while your PCR is processing.

Why are you even taking a pcr test if your antigen test gives you a positive?

I'm not but PP doesn't want to wait 3 days - so there's a solution.

[Anonymous]

NYC has it done right - they are doing PCR and antigen tests right on the street. They've also now started doing the saliva tests. There are hundreds of sites all over the city, you just walk up, no appointment. There's minimal wait time.

Results are uploaded onto the city's portal quickly. A few hours for antigen tests, 24-36 hours for a PCR. It's all free.

My friend in NYC love it because it's possible to do surveillance testing for kids or before/after travel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NYC has it done right - they are doing PCR and antigen tests right on the street. They've also now started doing the saliva tests. There are hundreds of sites all over the city, you just walk up, no appointment. There's minimal wait time.

Results are uploaded onto the city's portal quickly. A few hours for antigen tests, 24-36 hours for a PCR. It's all free.

My friend in NYC love it because it's possible to do surveillance testing for kids or before/after travel.

Yes this is what many European cities have too. It's great. 24-36 hours means it's actually useful. It's all about the lab times.

[Anonymous]

I've done the library tests several times aside from one time -- right before Christmas -- they never take more than 2 days. YMMV, of course. They say "3-5 days" but that's never been my experience.

Also true that Curative generally gets a result back within 24 hours, so they are my preference. However, they seem to be less willing to take walk-ups and now only do appointments (which might just be the ones near my location).

And why am I testing this damn much? Kids in school. I don't like it but if your kid sneezes once, guess what's happening at my school? The kid gets sent home for 2 days and you have to produce a negative PCR to return (although it doesn't matter if you can get that PCR result in 1 day -- kid still has to stay home for 2 days). It's fun particularly for kids with allergies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've done the library tests several times aside from one time -- right before Christmas -- they never take more than 2 days. YMMV, of course. They say "3-5 days" but that's never been my experience.

Also true that Curative generally gets a result back within 24 hours, so they are my preference. However, they seem to be less willing to take walk-ups and now only do appointments (which might just be the ones near my location).

And why am I testing this damn much? Kids in school. I don't like it but if your kid sneezes once, guess what's happening at my school? The kid gets sent home for 2 days and you have to produce a negative PCR to return (although it doesn't matter if you can get that PCR result in 1 day -- kid still has to stay home for 2 days). It's fun particularly for kids with allergies.

+1

This is the only reason our household needs so many tests (although our daycare has switched to accepting antigen tests). I never knew my child’s nose ran this much!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's great that they are trying to make them accessible, but if it continues to take 3 to 5 days to get results, the tests are worthless, especially with Omicron.

What they really need to fix is the testing turnaround times.

If they opened 8 new testing centers with free rapid PCRs and results onsite, then we would actually make some progress.

Which is why they are handing out 4 free antigen tests per a day to every resident. You take a antigen get a positive and isolate while your PCR is processing.

Are they checking IDs or do they just assume you are a resident?

[Anonymous]

Yes, they check ID for the free antigen tests. And every five.minutes in the libraries not handing out antigen tests, a dumb patron comes in and queries the librarian about testing..IMO they need to get the poor librarians out of this, or out up better signage, or have DC Health handing out the antigen tests (which is what people want) at more locations.