Congressmen Rodney Davis and Darin LaHood tour COVID-19 testing site in Springfield

Posted on April 20, 2020
State Rep. Mike Murphy (left), Rep. Darin LaHood (middle) and Rep. Rodney Davis (right) toured a Walgreen’s testing site in Springfield. (Photo courtesy: Dave Dahl)

By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – A recently closed Walgreens store on Springfield’s North End is one of three in the state performing free drive-up coronavirus tests.

This test is to identify whether you have an active infection with COVID-19,” said Heather Fitzgerald, a Walgreens pharmacist who acts as site coordinator for a drive-up clinic – with a lab inside the building. “It’s not an antibody test. It won’t tell us whether you had it. We take the sample inside, and we should be able to deliver results to our patients within 24 hours.”

Workers examine testing equipment at a Springfield testing site. (Photo courtesy: Dave Dahl)

The test has you put a swab (less than an inch) inside your nose for a few seconds. Fitzgerald says it’s the Abbott ID Now test, not the one in which patients have a lengthy swab pushed to the back of their hear through the nose.

Fitzgerald says not everybody qualifies for the test, and people should go online for a screening before heading out.

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected]. 

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