Local firm fires up COVID-19 testing

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This article was published 08/03/2021 (1672 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A local drug-testing company has pivoted to offer rapid COVID-19 tests geared toward international travellers and essential transportation workers.

Star Drug Testing Services, which normally does random drug and alcohol testing for transportation, child-welfare and other industries, was granted approval to start conducting antigen and antibody tests starting today following federal and provincial guidelines. It is charging $169 for the rapid antigen test and $59 to test for COVID antibodies.

The Winnipeg lab has already received a lot of interest in the private tests, said president and owner Marina Charriere. When the pandemic hit, she said she heard from corporations who wanted to test their employees for the virus even though they didn’t have symptoms. Apart from rapid-testing pilot projects for a select few groups of workers, including personal care home staff and teachers, Manitoba doesn’t offer asymptomatic COVID-19 tests, so private labs have stepped in to fill the gap.

“The need was there (with) the companies that we see. We first started looking at it in terms of, how do we meet these companies’ needs?” Charriere said.

“Then we started seeing, you know what, there are a lot of people out there, individuals, who just want to know. Or who are taking care of a loved one at home who’s got a fragile immune system and wouldn’t mind doing an antibody test or an antigen test weekly just to make sure or to have that second layer of safety.”

The antigen test is not considered as accurate as the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests commonly used in Manitoba and other jurisdictions. While the PCR test — considered the gold standard — detects the virus’s genetic material, the antigen test detects proteins on the surface of the virus and delivers a faster result. The rapid antibody tests, authorized by Health Canada just last month, are meant to detect whether someone already had the virus, not to diagnose it. Both tests show results in about 15 minutes.

Other private labs in Manitoba test for COVID-19 and its antibodies, but Charriere said she believes her company is the first in the province to offer these specific rapid tests. She said she expects the tests to become more popular with companies that require their employees to travel across the border, and with individuals who are headed to international destinations that accept antigen test results.

The rapid tests are another tool Charriere said she hopes will help further decrease the burden on Manitoba’s health-care system.

“If we’re to do our part, we need the tools to do our part. And the province can’t be responsible for everyone, and the health-care workers need to be there for the ones who are ill. But for those who are not showing symptoms, it gives them another avenue that they can take so that they can do their part but not bombard the health-care system,” Charriere said. “(It will) allow them to take some responsibility and allow them to have control of their health.”

Currently, travellers entering Canada have to provide proof of a negative PCR test — antigen tests aren’t accepted. But the U.S. does accept antigen tests upon arrival.

“Every test has its pros and cons,” Charriere said. “We still encourage the social distancing, the masks. Because not everybody’s vaccinated, and until that happens, even though you (might) have the antibody, they’re now saying that variants may happen in terms of you having it (COVID-19) again.”

 

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @thatkatiemay