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New York State conducts coronavirus antibody tests at 2 Buffalo area grocery stores

New York State says samples will be taken to try and estimate what percentage of the population has contracted the virus and recovered.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — New York State has launched a program to test people to see if they have developed antibodies to coronavirus, administering 3,000 tests at select grocery stores including two in Western New York.

On Monday, there were long lines outside the Wegmans locations on Alberta Drive in Amherst and on Amherst Street in Buffalo, which were among 20 grocery stores selected as locations to conduct the tests statewide.

Some who volunteered to undergo the testing stood for two hours in line at the Amherst Street Wegmans, and once inside signed a consent form before having their finger pricked, then placed a droplet of blood on a card for testing.

They were told to expect a call from the state health department within three or four days telling them if they had the antibody or not, or if the test was inconclusive.

“It doesn’t tell someone at that point in time if they have COVID-19,” explained Erie County Health Commissioner Gale R. Burstein. “It’s not a diagnostic test.”

However, New York State says samples will be taken to try and estimate what percentage of the population has contracted the virus and recovered, which likely makes them immune to the illness, and use the data to help formulate decisions on steps to lift the stay at home orders and get the economy going again.

Erie County would also like to conduct antibody testing on a larger scale, according to County Executive Mark Poloncarz, who says the county has ordered 100,000 antibody tests.

“We want to test a sizable amount of the population and 100,000 would be about 10 percent of the population,” Poloncarz said.

While Dr. Burstein noted that the test kits ordered by the county have yet to gain FDA approval, she expressed the hope that the approval would be issued by the end of the week.

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