COVID-19 Antibody Test Available at American Family Care in Springfield

SPRINGFIELD — American Family Care (AFC) announced that its Springfield urgent-care center at 415 Cooley St. is now offering the COVID-19 antibody test.

“The test will be able to tell if patients have antibodies to the novel coronavirus, which could indicate that they have had COVID-19 in the past,” said Dr. Vincent Meoli, regional medical director of AFC. “The more information we have about who has been exposed, the more we will know about how much COVID-19 has spread through the population.”

He added, “it’s important to note that a positive result to the antibody test does not mean a patient has immunity. We don’t know if patients can contract the virus again; that’s still being studied.”

The COVID-19 antibody test is available only at the Springfield AFC location. Appointments are not required. Results will be available to patients within a few days of testing, as samples must be sent to Quest Diagnostics. Patients requesting the test, which is typically covered by insurance, will be asked to complete a brief questionnaire about their symptoms prior to testing.

The West Springfield AFC urgent-care center at 18 Union St. is offering the rapid molecular diagnostic test for COVID-19, with results available on the same day. The diagnostic test requires that patients first schedule a virtual AFC TeleCare appointment to be approved for testing. The West Springfield location is currently open only for COVID-19 testing.

Both AFC locations, in Springfield and West Springfield, have returned to their normal hours: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. during the week and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends.