If you see a tent, trailer, signs for free rapid testing and there’s a line of people, should you join it? One medical professional says not so fast.
Dr. Joseph Varon with United Memorial Medical Center said people must be cautious of where they’re lining up to take a test to ensure they’re not visiting potentially bogus sites.
“The question is how do you know? What are the big red flags? Well first, if you have a site that is not affiliated with like a local medical provider, an institute, a hospital,” he said.
Varon went on to say UMMC has collected and tested close to 1,000,000 samples since the pandemic started. He said his hospital adheres to the CDC and OSHA’s standard procedure for testing. Varon also said staff working testing sites should be wearing gloves, an N95 mask, and a face shield.
“We do use a shield because of the possibility of when you are doing the swab, somebody will cough on your face,” he said.
Varon said when collecting samples, the site technician should be placing it inside of a biohazard bag right in front of you with your name printed or written on the bag. He also said your paperwork should be placed in the bag to prevent any confusion about who the sample belongs to.
He said he’s been noticing many questionable testing sites popping up across the Houston area since last April, some he said targeting people with Medicare or even charging people for a free test.
“There is no regulation, and that is the problem,” he said. “The lack of regulation pretty much allows anybody to [open] their own little pop-up testing site.”
Varon said while these sites are collecting sensitive personal information, he believes their primary gain is monetary.
“At the end of the day, it’s money,” he said. “People want to make money and this is to some extent easy money because the government is gonna pay you an amount.”
He is urging people to research and find a reputable site instead of joining the first line you see.
“This is not something that you deal lightly with. You have to understand that the information you’re receiving from a COVID test may actually cost you your life,” he said.