Guard-a-Heart Offers Free Covid Antibody Testing to the Community at Calvary Baptist Church

Medical staff in the parking lot at the Calvary Baptist Church on 20th Street in Santa Monica, tested about 600 people for Coronavirus antibodies, during a free event from November 19-21.

Guard-a-heart has previously provided this service to members of the community, at the Baldwin Crenshaw Mall.

One reason to go to the church is its easy access. Also many doctors are hesitant to test patients, especially if they are asymptomatic as to Covid-19.

First the woman takes your temperature even if you are photographing the testing site in the parking lot of the church.

Then, they take the patients blood sample.

Patient blood is then processed and sent to a laboratory in IrvineCA for testing. The results will be available 3-5 days later.

Guard-a-heart does share data with the Los Angeles County Health Dept.

Many precautions are taken in this facility. They even separate the clean and dirty pens!

Their testing is at no cost to patients, though participants are asked for their insurance. If they do not have coverage it will be paid for by the California Cares Act. Children older than 12 months may participate.

If you are interested in future dates for No Cost COVID-19 Antibody Testing, please visit the GUARDaHEART Website www.GuardaHeart.org

A couple of paragraphs from their press release:

"Calvary Baptist Church of Santa Monica celebrates its 100th Year Anniversary this year. For over 100 years, Calvary has sought to serve an ever evolving community and has been involved in the ongoing fight for civil rights for all who have been oppressed, even sponsoring a visit from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1961. To this day Calvary continues a walk in love and faith to serve the Santa Monica community and beyond."

"Calvary Baptist Church unites with GUARDaHEART Foundation to offer No-Cost COVID-19 antibody testing for the City of Santa Monica community and the surrounding areas. The COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 serology antibody tests are covered under the CARES Act and will be available to the community with or without insurance. The testing is covered under the Cares Act. Everyone is available to receive the COVID-19 serology antibody test at no cost to them as long as they do not have any symptoms of COVID-19. Testing starts at age one and anyone under 18 years old must be accompanied by an adult.

" The SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing being provided is one of the most reliable antibody tests available. It has a sensitivity of 100 percent and a specificity of 99.6 percent performance evaluations. This COVID-19 antibody blood test can be used to detect the presence of an IgM & IgG antibody response. A positive result indicates that an individual has been infected with the COVID-19 pathogen and has developed some level of immunity. This test could be a critical next step in battling COVID-19, continuing to flatten the curve and ensuring a safe re-opening of the community."