County authorizes antibody testing for first responders

Cole County first responders and the Missouri Highway Patrol responded to the scene of a single-vehicle accident Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016, on U.S. 54. The vehicle appeared to be westbound and ran through the median, coming to rest on the vehicle's passenger side on the inside shoulder of the eastbound lane.
Cole County first responders and the Missouri Highway Patrol responded to the scene of a single-vehicle accident Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016, on U.S. 54. The vehicle appeared to be westbound and ran through the median, coming to rest on the vehicle's passenger side on the inside shoulder of the eastbound lane.

The Cole County Commission on Tuesday approved a proposal to do COVID-19 antibody testing for hundreds of emergency responders in the county.

The testing currently being done at local hospitals and the community testing planned for next week at the old county health department is "PCR testing," Cole County Health Department Director Kristi Campbell said.

"That's the testing with the nasal swab to detect whether someone has the virus in their nasal cavity," Campbell said. "They could have the live virus, or it could be dead and they could be shedding the virus."

The antibody blood draw can give some insight into whether a person has had a past infection, she said.

"The lab we currently have a contract with has the ability to do the antibody testing at $50 a test," Campbell said.

The county plans to offer these voluntary tests next week to 641 emergency responders from the Cole County Health Department, Sheriff's Department, Emergency Medical Services, fire protection districts and first responders, as well as the Jefferson City police and fire departments and Lincoln University Police Department.

At a cost of $50 per test, the total cost would be $32,000, Campbell said.

Commissioners said the county would use some of the $9 million the county received in May from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, to pay for the antibody testing.

"If it is detected that they were exposed to COVID, we would probably recommend that they have another test in six to 12 weeks to see if their antibodies are building or waning," Campbell said.

She said they have discussed making these tests available for the public but need to do more research on how the federal CARES Act funds may be used.