Tupelo clinic rapidly going through rapid COVID tests

A clinic in Tupelo is going through rapid COVID tests at a fast pace.

Barr more people are going to get rapid testing for coronavirus because of the quick results.

Wtva's chelsea brown is live in tupelo to tell us more about how these tests work.

Here at medplus in tupelo just received more rapid tests.

I spoke with a nurse practitioner here about just how fast they're going through these tests.

"they don't have to go as far back as the previous ones so it's not as painful."

Lindsay weatherford is a nurse practitioner at medplus.

She says the rapid tests are still a nasal swab test but they are not as painful.

Late last week medplus received about 300 rapid test.

Weatherford says they went through those tests over the weekend.

"went through 8 boxes over the weekend, so we were flocked."

They got a new shipment of test this morning.

Staff put the swabs through quality control.

Weatherford says the new tests are about 80-85% accurate.

After health workers swabbed the patients.

They brought the tests to the lab.

That's where they dipped them into a solution and put them into the machine the get results.

The wait time for results are between 5 and 15 minutes.

"15 mins here is more convenient than sending them out and waiting 2 or 3 days."

Weatherford says the staff at medplus try and reserve the rapid tests for patients showing symptoms. she says patients like the rapid testing much better.

"it's still uncomfortable but it's just not quite as bad so they are appreciative of not having nose pleads after the fact."

(wait time closing time) live in tupelo, chelsea brown, wtva 9 news.

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