Fresno health clinic offering rapid COVID-19 tests that give results in minutes

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- As hospitals fill up with COVID-19 patients, those who have been tested are having to wait longer to get results.

California health officials released new guidelines to make the tests more widely available and prioritize which ones are processed first.

"We need those test results more immediate so that we can do the correct things as relates to isolation and quarantine," said the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Dr. Mark Ghaly

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Everyday Health Care in Fresno is trying to do just that by offering a COVID-19 test that gives you results in minutes.

"We do a nasal swab, and we put a q-tip up the nose. We take it to a clinic and get the results," officials at the health clinic said.

Everyday Health Care officials say the FDA-approved antigen test is 99% accurate and can be administered from inside your car.

"With this, we can do it right away and let them go back to work if they're negative," they added.

Fresno County health officials acknowledge that test is fast, but say it may not be the most accurate.

"Whenever you have a positive result from that test, it really doesn't count unless there's a followup test, which is a confirmatory test. Which is the one we have." said Fresno County health director, Dr. Rais Vohra. "If the test comes back negative, there's about a 20% it's a false negative because 1 in 5 COVID patients have a negative test."

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Dr. Vohra also said there's a lot of pressure to push out tests that bring faster results.

"Because we're in a pandemic, The FDA is approving a lot of tests even though they haven't passed a high scientific bar," he said.

Vohra says they plan to stick with the more widely used PCR swab test for now. However, the department is looking into other types of testing, including a supervised self-test that would allow you to swab yourself and then hand off the sample to a medical official.

For more news coverage on the coronavirus and COVID-19 go to ABC30.com/coronavirus