Arizona-based diagnostics lab Saguaro Bloom has opened Valley Shield, the first COVID-19 testing facility in the state to offer affordable and accessible rapid antigen testing at $49 which is currently a third of the market price. The Valley Shield facility, located in Maryvale, will provide high quality rapid testing in addition to no-cost standard COVID testing (RT-PCR) for individuals and families who have struggled to access fast and affordable testing throughout the pandemic.
“Fast and reliable COVID-19 testing should be accessible to every Arizonan,” said Jesse Greer, MD, Founder of Saguaro Bloom. “When we first launched Saguaro Bloom last year, we focused on developing an Arizona-based lab that could help Arizona stay open and stay safe. Over the last few months, we gathered feedback about parts of the Valley that remained underserved. We are excited to open Valley Shield in Maryvale to bring tests and best-in-class service to more families, businesses, and organizations as the pandemic continues to impact us all.”
While rapid antigen tests are still highly-sensitive (85%), their superpower is their ability to process in under an hour. They are also excellent at quickly detecting whether someone is actively infectious. Valley Shield provides rapid antigen tests for $49 per test compared to $150 or more throughout the Valley.
In addition to the rapid antigen tests, Valley Shield will offer no-cost PCR testing for those with or without insurance. Valley Shield uses RT-PCR (Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction) technology, considered the gold standard for COVID-19 testing (>97% sensitivity). All tests are run in-house and RT-PCR results are available in 1-2 days.
“When COVID-19 became a crisis, government leadership only focused on funding RT-PCR tests, which are the critical diagnostic tool for COVID-19,”Dr. Greer said. “RT-PCR tests are complex to run and can have a variable response time. We process our PCRs consistently within two days, which other labs have struggled to achieve, and anyone who needs a test can get one at no cost.”
Public health officials acknowledge that rapid antigen testing is a very important diagnostic tool in the fight against COVID. The speed and simplicity of antigen tests offer a more realistic option to test the masses and start getting things back to normal.
The supply chains seem to be catching up and both the price and availability of rapid antigen tests have improved. There is a potential that public funding will increase for these tests under the new administration and advancements will continue to make these tests cheaper and more widely available.
“The pandemic is far from over, and we cannot give in to pandemic fatigue,” Dr. Greer said. “Infection rates remain high and new variants are a very real threat. People continue dying needlessly, and many survivors are suffering post-COVID effects and financial hardship. It is critical that Arizonans continue to have increased access to regular testing. We have to keep striving to get people the right tests when they need them without undue financial burden. That will keep businesses open, kids in school, visitors visiting, and people alive.”
Individuals can sign up for appointments by visiting the Valley Shield website. The facility is open 7 Monday through Friday, 9am-5pm, Saturday and Sunday 10am-2pm, and has the capacity to process 1,000 COVID-19 tests per day providing results in less than 48 hours. The website is also available in Spanish.
