appointment system a little tricky, very safe set up, swabs not long
yesterday i finally got a covid-19 nasal swab at cal-expo in sacramento, ca. by the time i had this appointment, the process was fairly smooth. my appointment was at 9:45am. i missed the turn into “lot d” at cal expo the first pass through and had to make a couple of u-turns to get back in at about 9:48am.
i slowly progressed in a line of cars. i interacted with people a little bit at three checkpoints and then people from the army efficiently waived me forward to different waiting spots. even though they have you keep your window closed the whole time until the actual test, every single human outside was fully masked. you press your drivers license against the window. they put written questions up against the window at various stations, like “are you allergic to latex?”
it took about 20 minutes for me to advance from the back of the line outside to enter a large open air building (i think it was one of the buildings that people show their prize livestock in during the state fair. that thought made me miss the state fair. i love the state fair. I wonder if any of the sheep ever got nasal swabs?). i was directed to one of five stations with nurses. the nurse handed me a very long swab and i gulped, “here it goes, the brain scratching that has been described.” she explained that i was to insert the tip of the swab (about an inch long) into each nostril and circle it around 10 times.
this was not at all brain scratching. not even brain tickling! not the slightest bit uncomfortable. i then plopped the swab into a ziplock lab bag and hurried on my way. unfortunately, for social media purposes, they expressly forbid taking any photos or video.
as it turned out, the process leading up to the appointment involved a lot more brain scratching than the actual test. first of all, there was the question whether to take a test at all with no symptoms. it was clear that if i had symptoms, my health plan would cover the test, but thankfully, i did not. i also do not have any much vaunted “co-morbidities.” i am even one year younger than the “older” age that seems to put me more statistically at risk. i do, however, provide direct care for my mother in a setting where there are other caregivers-not a facility, but a private home.
then there’s the question of what the results are worth. if it’s negative, then i maybe didn’t have covid-19, that day. i could have contracted it in between the negative test and receiving the results.
if it’s positive, then it may be a false positive.
a few weeks ago, the cal expo testing restricted the number of people who could take the test. they still have screening questions but it seems like they’ll take anyone.
to get tested for free not at a doctor in sacramento county:
At Sacramento Cal expo: https://www.projectbaseline.com/study/covid-19/eligibility/
to get tested for free not at a doctor in yolo county:
west sacramento apply for an appointment either online https://lhi.care/covidtesting or by phone at (888) 634-1123. those without health insurance will have their costs covered by the state. for those with health insurance, their provider will be billed and there will be no out of pocket costs.
