PARKERSBURG – With its deal with vaccines, the Mid-Ohio Valley Division of Well being hasn’t provided many free COVID-19 testing occasions not too long ago.
However the proof continues to be obtainable and essential, stated Carrie Brainard, the division’s risk preparedness coordinator. Anybody with signs of the brand new coronavirus or who has been uncovered to somebody with COVID-19 ought to get examined to allow them to be quarantined if crucial, he stated.
“We wish folks to know if they’ve carried out it” That, Brainard stated. “We now have individuals who do not present any signs.”
For months, the division hosted trial occasions within the six counties it serves: Calhoun, Pleasants, Ritchie, Roane, Wirt, and Wooden. However with vaccinations beginning in early January and 1000’s of individuals eager to enroll, extra sources are being utilized to that effort.
Though the state has taken over the registry, Brainard stated the well being division workers continues to be busy scheduling vaccination appointments and administering vaccines.
Fruth pharmacies in Mineral Wells and Spencer and Walgreens in Parkersburg and Vienna supply free assessments by appointment, in response to the West Virginia Division of Well being and Human Sources. Free assessments are additionally obtainable at Minnie Hamilton Well being System in Grantsville and Ritchie Regional Well being Heart in Harrisville.
The check occasions have been held this week in Pleasants and Wirt counties with the assistance of West Virginia College, Brainard stated.
In Wooden County, testing is carried out on the WVU Drugs Camden Clark Medical Heart’s Rosemar Circle facility with a doctor’s order and at MedExpress areas in Parkersburg and Vienna. In these circumstances, the insurance coverage is billed or the uninsured pay for the assessments.
Though the Well being Division has had fewer free testing occasions, a evaluate of the state-released testing statistics doesn’t present an general lower within the variety of assessments since late November, though they fluctuate from week to week.
Wooden County peaked with simply over 5,000 assessments from November 28 to December three. Within the weeks since, the variety of assessments reported by the state has been between three,335 and three,962.
State knowledge confirmed 116 assessments in Pleasants County between Christmas and New Years and solely 91 between January 22 and January 28. In different weeks since Nov. 21, Pleasants County has seen as many as 582, however Brainard attributed the upper numbers to testing in response to an outbreak at St. Marys Correctional Heart.
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COVID-19 Testing Choices by County:
Calhoun
* Minnie Hamilton Well being System, 186 Hospital Drive, Grantsville; Tuesday from 9 am to midday.
Ritchie
* Ritchie Regional Well being Heart, 135 South Penn Ave., Harrisville; midday to four pm Monday via Friday; additionally obtainable by appointment from eight am to six pm on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday; Tuesday from eight am to eight pm and Friday from eight am to four pm; 304-643-4005.
Roane
* Fruth, 218 Market St., Spencer; quotation: www.doineedacovid19check.com/Spencer–WV–2044.html
* Roane County Household Well being Care, 146 Williams Drive, Spencer; eight am to six:30 pm from Monday to Friday
Wooden
* Fruth, 1506 Elizabeth Pike, Mineral Wells; quotation: www.doineedacovid19check.com/Mineralwells–WV–1543.html
* MedExpress, 1500 Grand Central Ave., Suite 115, Vienna, 304-485-3627; 2832 Pike St., Suite 1, Parkersburg, 304-489-3815. Billed to insurance coverage or self-pay for the uninsured.
* Walgreens, 3400 Dudley Ave., Parkersburg; appointment: www.walgreens.com/findcare/covid19/testing
* Walgreens, 2300 Grand Central Ave., Vienna; appointment: www.walgreens.com/findcare/covid19/testing
* WVU Drugs Camden Clark Medical Heart, Rosemar Medical Plaza, four Rosemar Circle, Parkersburg; you have to have a prescription from a WVU Drugs main care supplier or name 304-598-6000, # four, to contact a supplier who can assess an individual’s state of affairs and supply an order, if relevant. Billed to insurance coverage or self-pay for the uninsured.
You’ll be able to attain Evan Bevins at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.
