COVID-19 RT-PCR & Antibody Test
Knowing results can help control the spread of Covid-19, speed up care, protect your workplace and facilitate international travel.
Early detection helps slow the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in the community. We believe that everyone who needs a coronavirus test should be able to get access.
We can help you decide which test (if any) is most appropriate, and provide written documentation of test results.
We will provide you with the results in 24hours.
Please ring the clinic on 0118 958 2016 or 01491 873 989 to make an appointment.
COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) Antibody Test: £169
A blood test to see whether a person has been infected previously or has a vaccine-induced immune response.
COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) RT-PCR Test: £195
A swab test to see if you currently have the virus.
- Detects the COVID-19 virus with a high degree of accuracy, meeting Internationally-recognised standards.
- Is suitable for people with current or recent symptoms, or those who believe they have been in contact with someone else who may have COVID-19.
- Confirms if someone currently has a COVID-19 infection or not. Testing also provides definitive evidence of a Covid-Negative result, where required for travel.
COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) Antibody Test
We offer the following 4 Antibody tests for the detection of antibodies targeted against SARS-CoV-2:
- Roche Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2-S (Spike) IgG/IgM total antibody test
This blood test enables the determination of both the presence and level of antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, which is the target of many COVID-19 vaccines. It can signal whether a person has already been infected and has potentially developed immunity to the virus and plays an important part in characterising a vaccine-induced immune response.
- Roche Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG/IgM total antibody test
This blood test enables the determination of the presence of IgG and IgM antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein.
- Abbott Architect SARS-CoV-2 IgG test
This blood test enables the determination of the presence of IgG antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein.
- Abbott Architect SARS-CoV-2 IgM test
This blood test enables the determination of the presence of IgM antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.
Antibody testing should be undertaken 14 days or more following exposure, onset of symptoms or post-vaccination. The incubation period of COVID-19 ranges from between 1 to 14 days, with the majority of cases manifesting with symptoms at 3–5 days.
If an individual has been infected with SARS-CoV-2, they may have detectable antibodies to both the nucleocapsid (N) and the spike protein receptor binding domain (RBD). Baseline antibody tests for both nucleocapsid and RBD antigens are therefore helpful to identify patients who have been previously infected with SARS-CoV-2. It is not yet known if an individual with a positive result showing presence of IgG levels following being infected with SARS-CoV-2 will be protected, either fully or partially from future infection, or for how long protective immunity may last.
If an individual has been vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2, with no history of natural infection, the antibodies they develop are to the spike protein receptor binding domain. Determining the levels of these antibodies could play a role in establishing vaccine efficacy and vaccine-induced immune response.
Please note:
Antibody tests cannot diagnose acute infection.
Not everyone will develop an antibody response to COVID infection or vaccine.
What type of sample is needed?
A member of staff will take a blood sample from you. The sample is then sent to a trusted, accredited external laboratory and analysed. We will provide you with the results in 24hours.
Please ring the clinic on 0118 958 2016 or 01491 873 989 to make an appointment.
COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) RT-PCR Test
- Detects the COVID-19 virus with a high degree of accuracy, meeting Internationally-recognised standards.
- Is suitable for people with current or recent symptoms, or those who believe they have been in contact with someone else who may have COVID-19.
- Confirms if someone currently has a COVID-19 infection or not. Testing also provides definitive evidence of a Covid-Negative result, where required for travel.
It stands for “real time reverse transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction”. It is a highly sensitive method of detecting viral genetic molecules, and a simple technical explantation is as follows. The coronavirus genome is stored in molecules called RNA. The technique uses an enzyme to “reverse transcribe” RNA into DNA, and then to make many copies of any resulting DNA molecules that are an exact match with unique “target” sections of the coronavirus genome, to the point where they can be detected.
Please ring the clinic on 0118 958 2016 or 01491 873 989 to make an appointment.
A throat and nasal sample is required. It will be taken by a member of staff. The sample will then be sent to a to a trusted, accredited external laboratory and analysed using a PCR machine. The PCR test works by detecting the genetic material of a virus at a molecular level. It can identify not just COVID-19, but also influenza, common cold viruses and other causes of respiratory infection from the same sample. This means it can pinpoint the exact cause of your symptoms. PCR testing can confirm or rule out an active Coronavirus (Covid-19) infection.
Please ring the clinic on 0118 958 2016 or 01491 873 989 to make an appointment.
A PCR test requires a swab sample from the throat and nose. The swab looks like a long “cotton bud”. The swab is touched against the back of the throat, and the inside of the nose. If a person is shedding virus, infected cells and viral particles are trapped on the fibres of the swab, ready for analysis.
Please ring the clinic on 0118 958 2016 or 01491 873 989 to make an appointment.
Coronavirus RT-PCR tests cannot be performed on a blood sample. Covid-19 blood tests detect antibodies, which the body produces in response to a Covid-19 infection. Therefore, the presence of antibodies denotes past infection not active infection. Whereas PCR tests detect current infection collecting a sample of live virus from the nose and throat.
Please ring the clinic on 0118 958 2016 or 01491 873 989 to make an appointment.
The majority of people test positive on PCR by Day 5 or Day 6 following exposure to an infected case. However, in some cases it can take up to 14 days for a person to develop Covid-19 symptoms. This is why there is a self-isolation period of 14 days following contact with a Covid-positive person.
Please ring the clinic on 0118 958 2016 or 01491 873 989 to make an appointment.
