Free antibody testing available for most at South Florida sites. Here’s how to get tested
Free antibody testing for the novel coronavirus will be coming to more South Florida sites for anyone 18 years or older.
Starting Thursday, Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, the Miami Beach Convention Center and FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches will be offering free antibody testing, which was only offered to first responders, said Mike Jachles, spokesman for the testing sites.
“We’ve had a lot of people ask for these tests and now the division can offer them to anyone 18 and up,” Jachles said.
At all three sites in order to get tested one must show an ID proving they are 18 or older. The Miami Beach location will be offering 80 antibody tests a day, Hard Rock will have 125 tests per day and the ballpark will have about 40 tests per day.
Hard Rock and the convention center will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week. Both locations don’t require an appointment and do drive-thru testing, although the convention center is also offering walk-in testing. At the ballpark, it will be appointment only and will be open from 8 a.m. to noon Tuesday through Saturday.
Anyone can get tested at these locations and don’t need to live in the area around them or the county they are located in. Antibody testing is done by taking a blood sample and tested on site, meaning results will be given about 45 minutes after testing.
“One goal is to test as many people as we can,” Jachles said. “The more people we test, the better the picture we have of who has antibodies and who doesn’t.”
Residents can also receive active coronavirus testing at the sites and will be told if they are positive or negative for the virus in about two days.
This story was originally published June 3, 2020 at 10:11 PM.
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