I took an antibody test. Here’s how it went down.
Plus: Protestors smash windows and throw rocks at police in west Charlotte overnight; Braxton Winston arrested for 'failure to disperse'; Photo essay on social distancing; Ron Rivera house sold
Covid antibody tests are said to be ‘quick and easy,’ so I got one. But what can you really learn?
by Tony Mecia
With many of us cooped up at home for weeks, we’ve had the time to ponder deep questions: What’s the purpose of life? What is happiness? If a tree falls in the woods and nobody hears it, does it make a sound?
Now, we can add one more: If you could find out if you have had the coronavirus, would you?
Today, that’s no longer a theoretical question. Lots of healthcare companies locally are making Covid antibody tests available. They’re easy to sign up for and pretty cheap.
How do I know? I took one this week.
I’m not in a high-risk group. I’m 48. I have no underlying health conditions (that I’m aware of). Nobody I know has been diagnosed with Covid. I had a persistent cough in March, but that’s about it as far as recent health issues.
Still, with new research showing that as many as four of every five people with coronavirus exhibit no symptoms, it’s possible that I had it, right? In New York, which experienced the worst outbreak in the U.S., about 20% of the population is thought to have had Covid. The figure elsewhere, including Charlotte, is likely to be lower.
Would you want to know?
I wanted to know. A Ledger reader wrote in last week that he went online, signed up, went for a blood test and got the results. “Quick and easy,” he said. He went through a company called LabCorp, a Fortune 500 company based in Burlington.
On Sunday night, I went onto LabCorp’s website, signed up for an account and indicated I wanted a Covid antibody test. A doctor is supposed to recommend an antibody test, but LabCorp has contracted with an online “independent physician” service. It reminded me of a trip a few years ago to Los Angeles, where our family observed that crafty entrepreneurs got around medical marijuana laws by having on-site “green doctors” prescribe weed for anybody who said they were anxious or had a headache.
With LabCorp, you just fill out a short online form:
And that was it. The online doctor rendered an instant decision at 10:30 p.m.:
I paid $10 on my credit card and scheduled the blood test. Monday was Memorial Day, but I was able to sign up for an 11 a.m. appointment on Billingsley Road, just a couple of miles from my house. LabCorp has 16 lab testing locations in the Charlotte area.
On Tuesday, I headed to the nondescript medical office building across the street from Randolph Road Park. I checked myself in at the handy check-in kiosk:
The receptionist called me up and checked my name off. Within minutes, I was in a chair, rolling up my sleeve and waiting for the technician to draw my blood. He told me about 80% of their work lately has been administering antibody tests.
He put the needle in my arm, drew my blood, and I was out of there in less than 15 minutes.
At 4:26 a.m. on Wednesday — not that I was awake — a LabCorp emailed showed up in my inbox. I read it around 6:30, as I let the dog outside: “Thank you for choosing LabCorp. As requested, laboratory test results have been delivered to your LabCorp Patient Portal inbox.”
I then fired up my laptop, logged on and quickly found the results: The lab tests showed I had high cholesterol.
Oh wait — that was the blood test from my physical last year, I soon realized. When I found the correct one from this week, it said:
If I’m being honest, I was a little disappointed. Knowing I already had it, with no symptoms, would be better than not having had it and catching it down the line — even though my odds of becoming seriously ill seem small. Antibody tests have been criticized for sometimes being inaccurate, but I’m not going to argue.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that even if people test positive on a Covid antibody test, they shouldn’t assume they are immune from catching it again. Although a positive test “likely indicates at least some degree of immunity, until the durability and duration of immunity is established, it cannot be assumed that individuals with truly positive antibody test results are protected from future infection,” the CDC says.
A positive antibody test could be more helpful in the future, when we know more about this disease.
So that’s the problem: The results of the test don’t really tell you all that much. It’s information, but you can’t do much with it.
However, taking the test did help my health in one way: by reminding me to lay off the cholesterol. No more eggs for breakfast.
West Charlotte demonstrators throw rocks at police, loot Food Lion
A west Charlotte protest with hundreds of demonstrators turned violent Friday night, as some threw rocks and other objects at police and smashed the windows of a Food Lion and other businesses.
According to media on the scene, the crowd had gathered around 6:30 p.m. near the police station on Beatties Ford Road to protest the death of George Floyd, a black Minnesota resident who died after a white officer in Minneapolis restrained him by placing a knee on Floyd’s neck for several minutes. A video of the incident fueled protests around the country.
In Charlotte, police made at least four arrests for failing to disperse. Among those arrested was City Council member Braxton Winston (mug shot here). Winston was elected to City Council after his involvement in the 2016 Keith Lamont Scott protests. A photo of him, shirtless, with his fist in the air before a line of police in riot gear became a defining image of those protests.
Among the reports:
9 p.m. “Shortly after 9 p.m., the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department deemed the gathering ‘unlawful’ and had ordered the demonstrators to disperse.” (WCNC)
9:09 p.m. CMPD tweets that “Several protesters have damaged police cruisers and continue to throw rocks at officers”
11:28 p.m. “People are starting to loot local businesses as police try to gain control. Windows can be seen broken at a nearby Food Lion, as well as other businesses. Officers have arrived on bikes at the stores to stop the looting.” (WSOC)
11:45 p.m. “Police are now blocking off an apartment complex near the Food Lion on Beatties Ford Road. Officers are trying to stop further damage and looting. (WSOC)
At one point, police — standing in a line with shields — appeared to release tear gas into the crowd:
City leaders said people have a right to protest nonviolently, but they denounced the destruction of property:
Mayor Vi Lyles said on Twitter: “Urging those in our community who are protesting tonight to refrain from violence. We can have activism and protests without violence.”
Council member Malcolm Graham told WSOC: “Folks have a right to be upset. They do not have a right to destroy public property.” —TM
Today’s supporting sponsors are MadPark Designs:
… and Soni Brendle:
Photo essay: Shopping in the Covid era
Continuing with our weekly photo essay series in partnership with our friends at The Biscuit, this week’s photographer is Ernest Moren. He takes us around the city with full-color and black and white photos of what he found of the community navigating a new world of social distancing.
Moren writes:
It’s hard to imagine that outside of our four walls, in the comfort of our healthy home, there are people working long shifts trying to care for patients to heal them of a virus that took us all by surprise. The purpose of this photographic documentary is to create awareness in those who have not yet taken this situation seriously, but above all, to thank those who are fighting against this virus so that this pandemic does not get out of control: doctors, nurses, teachers, etc. To all of you. THANKS A LOT.
Getting some groceries takes more time in this new world.
Social distancing.
Essentials: Food and sanitizer.
Look both ways when crossing the street. Wear a mask in public places.
Each week, The Biscuit and The Ledger offer views of neighborhoods and communities across the city through the eyes (and lenses) of local photographers.
In brief:
RNC details sought: North Carolina’s top health official is seeking more details about plans to hold the Republican National Convention in Charlotte. Health and Human Services secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen says she wants to know the number of delegates, how the RNC would implement health screenings and whether it is planning events “without social distancing or face coverings.” (WBTV)
Ron Rivera home sale: The Quail Hollow home of former Panthers coach Ron Rivera sold for $1.34M, slightly above the asking price of $1.335M, according to property records. The deal closed Friday. The listing broker said he didn’t know much about the new owners other than that they are “interested in keeping the TV cover that Ron autographed before leaving town.” (Biz Journal, with 23 home photos)
Hotels want meeting spaces reopened: The N.C. Restaurant & Lodging Association has written to Gov. Roy Cooper seeking the reopening of hotel meeting spaces. “The inability of hotels to service any event consisting of more than 10 participants has had the effect of grinding the largest part of our business to a complete stop,” the heads of the organization wrote. (Biz Journal)
A thank you to our Premium subscribers
The Ledger is able to deliver original, local information to you because of the support of our sponsors and paying subscribers. We are grateful for them.
Today, we want to give special recognition to our Premium-level subscribers. Premium subscriptions are for companies, groups and individuals willing to give more in exchange for a few extras — and also to lend support to the new model of local journalism that The Ledger represents.
They pay $379/year, which comes with newsletters for up to six email addresses, a monthly public thank-you (if desired) and an invitation to 1-2 events per year (on hold for now, for obvious reasons).
A special thank you to:
ATCO Properties
Carroll Financial
Charlotte Agenda
Crescent Communities
Drew Long Productions
Eric Moore, LLC
Foundation For The Carolinas
Greenway Wealth Advisors LLC
Ann Doss Helms
John Miller Law Firm, PLLC
K&L Gates LLP
Levine Properties
McGuireWoods LLP
MVA Public Affairs
Next Stage
Nichols Architecture, PA
Northwood Office
OrthoCarolina
SignatureFD
T.R. Lawing Realty Inc.
Tribek Properties
Stuart Watson, ManListening Podcast
For more information on paid subscriptions to The Ledger, check out this post.
Need to sign up for this e-newsletter? Here you go:
Got a news tip? Think we missed something? Drop us a line at editor@cltledger.com and let us know.
Like what we are doing? Feel free to forward this along and to tell a friend.
Archives available at https://charlotteledger.substack.com/archive.
On Twitter: @cltledger
Sponsorship information: email editor@cltledger.com.
The Charlotte Ledger is an e-newsletter and web site publishing timely, informative, and interesting local business news and analysis Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, except holidays and as noted. We strive for fairness and accuracy and will correct all known errors. The content reflects the independent editorial judgment of The Charlotte Ledger. Any advertising, paid marketing, or sponsored content will be clearly labeled.
Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Contributing editor: Tim Whitmire; Reporting intern: David Griffith