TOLEDO, Ohio — As COVID-19 testing opportunities continue to expand, local first responders are getting an idea of what their exposure to the virus looks like. The first set of antibody testing conducted by Mercy Health is underway.
"It took about five and a half seconds, it was painless and the results could be really monumental," Toledo police chief George Kral said. Kral received a test alongside others on Monday.
Members of the Toledo Police Department, Toledo Fire and Rescue, Lucas County Sheriff's Department and Ohio State Highway Patrol are among the people who will be tested for antibodies over the course of the next week. Many are interested to see the results.
"We're seeing people you know traveling from across the country, across the world! Depending on where you're dealing with them in traffic crashes, all kinds of calls for incidents. So, we will be interested to see what it looks like," Captain John Altman with Ohio State Highway Patrol said.
Antibody tests show if someone has been exposed to COVID-19, even if they have been asymptomatic. So far, only PCR swab testing has been available for local first responders.
Leaders with TFRD estimate about a dozen from their department have tested positive and TPD has had three positive cases. Both departments say the results from these tests will help them determine if they had asymptomatic carriers working, and how they can adjust operations moving forward.
"That all goes into one big data set for analysis so we can determine our level of immunity, if there is such a thing herd immunity, so we can prepare if there is another spike in the fall," TFRD Assistant Fire Chief John Kaminski said.
The testing is all being done at Mercy St. Vincent Medial Center. Test results usually take anywhere from one to five days to be processed.