COVID-19 Testing
In an effort to educate our communities, we have provided the following information to answer our most frequently asked questions.
If you are sick and decide not to be screened for COVID-19, please stay home until you are well. Continue social distancing, wearing a mask in public, washing your hands often and disinfecting your home frequently.
COVID-19 Testing Locations
Testing is available at all Health Center locations from 8:00am - 4:00pm Monday through Friday excluding holidays. Please call your health center before presenting for testing to find out their specific COVID-19 testing process.
The Cherokee Nation uses testing guidelines as recommended by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
There are two types of tests that Cherokee Nation Health Services can administer. Reference Lab Tests which take 24+ hours to see results and Rapid Tests that yield results in as little as 22 minutes. Rapid tests are used on our most critically ill patients because of the limited supply of testing materials.
Test results can take 1-4 days, but may be available the same day. CNHS will attempt to notify patients with POSITIVE test results by phone call or text message. All test results, positive or negative, are available on the CNHS Patient Portal as soon as they are received. If you need a copy of your test results, you can print them from the Patient Portal or call your nearest CNHS Medical Records Department.
The role of antibody testing for COVID-19 infection is still unclear and the accuracy of the antibody tests approved by the FDA is highly variable. For this reason antibody testing is not being performed at this time by Cherokee Nation Health Services. The key factor in this decision is the lack of evidence supporting immunity from a positive antibody test. People who test positive for antibodies likely were previously infected with COVID-19 but we don’t know if the presence of antibodies protects people from reinfection. As we learn more about COVID-19 antibodies and if testing for them becomes more accurate we may offer this test in the future.
