With the Saskatchewan Health Authority choosing to end asymptomatic COVID testing, those who aren’t vaccinated and need to supply a negative test for work, recreation or travel will have to pay for it.
A special health clinic in downtown Regina is now offering tests for those who need them.
“Our goal was to make it quick and easy for people to come in and be tested, and to make it affordable for people,” said registered psychiatric nurse Pam Ford.
“So we primarily offer the COVID testing to people that are using it for travelling purposes or for people that need to have a negative test for the unvaccinated, so if it’s your work or you want to go to an event, you want to take your kids to hockey or soccer,” she said.
One of the testing options is a Rapid Antigen Test, which has 90 per cent sensitivity and 100 per cent specificity. The higher the sensitivity rating, the more accurate the test is considered. A rapid antigen test can be used for travelling outside Canada in some cases.
“Some countries do allow the antigen test to be used as proof of a negative test so there are some countries you can use that for. It’s done in 15 minutes, and is a charge of $69,” Ford said.
People can also undergo a second method of testing, which has a 95 per cent sensitivity and 98 per cent specificity.
“The other test that we offer is a Rapid PCR Test, with results also in 15 minutes, and a price point of $169,” said Ford.
The PCR test is more costly because of its higher level of accuracy.
The Real-Time PCR Test, which is the same one administered at the Saskatchewan Health Authority drive-thru, is not currently available at the clinic, but they are hopeful to have it available within a week.