Free Antibody Testing Locations in NYC
Quick Digest:
- Antibody tests detect past infection with COVID-19. You may want to get this type of test if you would like to check if you were previously infected.
- Tests are available at NYC Health+Hospital locations for free. You can also get tested at urgent care facilities or a doctor’s office, but you may be charged between $50 and $200 if you do not have insurance.
- Mira can help individuals with or without insurance get an antibody test for free.
What is a COVID-19 antibody test?
A COVID-19 antibody test is completed through the collection of a blood sample and checks if you have specific antibodies for SARS COV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
Antibodies are small proteins that are part of your immune system and help fight off infection. Antibody tests can be used to see if you were previously infected with COVID-19 and are not used to detect current infection.
Who should get a COVID-19 antibody test?
Since antibody tests are not used to test for a current case of COVID-19, you should get a diagnostic test - PCR or antigen (rapid) test - if you are experiencing symptoms or were in close contact with someone who has COVID-19.
You may want to consider getting an antibody test if you had persisting COVID-19 symptoms in the past but never received a positive PCR test.
In addition, if you think you may have been an asymptomatic carrier of COVID-19, you may want to get an antibody test. Some people may also get an antibody test if they are interested in plasma donation for individuals who are being treated for COVID-19.
Need help figuring out what type of COVID test to get? Take our quiz on the different tests for COVID-19.
What do antibody test results mean?
Positive results mean that you were likely previously infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. However, some people may have a positive antibody test from being infected with a virus in the same family as COVID-19.
Negative results mean that you likely were not previously infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. However, it typically takes the body about 1-3 weeks to develop antibodies, so you may get a negative result if you were tested too soon after infection with COVID-19.
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Important considerations about antibody tests:
- Having antibodies for COVID-19 does not necessarily mean that you cannot contract or spread the virus. Especially with new variants circulating in the United States, it is highly important to continue wearing a mask and socially distancing even if you test positive for the antibodies.
- Antibody tests can yield false-positive and false-negative results. In certain cases, your doctor may want you to repeat an antibody test to verify results.
- It is unknown how long antibodies from COVID-19 last.
Can an antibody test show if my vaccine was effective?
Many public health and health care professionals are recommending that people hold off from getting antibody tests to confirm that the vaccine produced an immune response.
Even if your vaccine was effective, a commercial antibody test may show negative results because the antibodies produced by the vaccine are different from the antibodies produced by natural infection. In addition, antibody tests vary in their accuracy and can yield false negative or positive results.
A CDC report noted that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine uses mRNA from the spike protein; therefore, a spike protein antibody test would likely be positive for a vaccinated individual.
However, natural infection produces nucleocapsid antibodies while the vaccine does not. Therefore, if you got the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and then received an IgG/IgM nucleocapsid antibody test, the test would be negative.
Attached is a list of FDA-authorized antibody tests and whether they test for spike protein antibodies, nucleocapsid antibodies, or both.
If you would like to know what type of antibody test you are receiving, you should contact your testing facility. Regardless of your antibody results, it is still imperative to continue social distancing and to wear a mask. It is unclear if antibodies will offer long-term protection and if they will protect against the newly emerging variants.
How much does an antibody test cost?
There are many locations, such as NYC Health + Hospitals, that offer free antibody tests. A Mira membership gets you access to a free antibody test as well.
Many doctor's offices and urgent care clinics now offer antibody tests, but they may not be free. If you have insurance, be sure to check if your insurance will cover your test.
If you do not have insurance, you may be charged anywhere from $50 to $200+ for an antibody test at an urgent care.
NYC Health+Hospitals antibody testing for free
NYC Health+Hospitals offers free antibody testing in all 5 boroughs of New York City, regardless of insurance. Results are typically available within 24 hours.
Free Antibody Testing in NYC
Manhattan
NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue
462 First Avenue New York, New York 10016
Monday – Friday, 7:30 AM – 2:00 PM, Saturday, 7:30 AM – 3:30 PM, Sunday, 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Dyckman-Clinica de Las Americas
175 Nagle Avenue New York, NY 10034
Monday – Saturday, 9:00 AM – 3:30 PM, Sunday, 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Gouverneur
227 Madison Street New York, NY 10002
Monday – Friday, 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM, Saturday – Sunday, 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM
NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem
506 Lenox Avenue New York, New York 10037
Monday – Friday, 8:00 AM – 3:30 PM, Saturday – Sunday, 8:30 AM – 4:00 PM
NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Highbridge Recreation Center
2301 Amsterdam Avenue Manhattan NY 10033
Monday - Sunday, 9:00 AM - 7:00 PM
NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan
1901 First Avenue New York, New York 10029
Monday – Sunday, 9:00 AM – 3:30 PM
NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Old Broadway
21 Old Broadway Manhattan NY 10027
Monday - Sunday, 9:00 AM - 7:00 PM
NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Sydenham
264 W 118 Street New York, NY 10026
Monday – Saturday, 9:00 AM – 3:30 PM, Sunday, 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Virtual care for only $25 per visit
Virtual primary care, urgent care, and behavioral health visits are only $25 with a Mira membership.
Bronx
NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Belvis
545 East 142nd Street Bronx, NY 10454
Monday - Saturday: 9:00 AM - 3:30 PM, Sunday, 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM
NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi
1400 Pelham Parkway South Bronx, New York 10461
Monday – Friday, 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM, Saturday - Sunday, 9:00 AM - 3:30 PM
NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln
234 East 149th Street Bronx, New York 10451
Monday – Friday, 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM, Saturday - Sunday, 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Morrisania
1225 Gerard Avenue Bronx, NY 10452
Monday – Friday, 8:30 AM - 4:00 PM, Saturday, 9:00 AM - 3:30 PM, Sunday, 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx
3424 Kossuth Avenue Bronx, New York 10467
Monday - Sunday, 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Brooklyn
NYC Health + Hospitals/Coney Island
2601 Ocean Parkway Brooklyn, New York 11235
Monday – Saturday, 8:00 AM – 4:00, Sunday, 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM
NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Cumberland
100 North Portland Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11205
Monday – Friday, 9:00 AM – 3:30 PM, Saturday – Sunday, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, East New York
2094 Pitkin Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11207
Monday – Sunday, 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM
NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Homecrest
1601 Avenue S. Brooklyn, New York 11229
Monday – Friday, 8:30 AM – 4:00 PM
NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Jonathan Williams Houses
333 Roebling Street Brooklyn, NY 11211
Monday – Friday: 8:30 AM – 3:30 PM, Saturday – Sunday: 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM
NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County
T-Building, Room T-110 1st floor (corner of Clarkson Avenue & New York Avenue)
451 Clarkson Avenue Brooklyn, New York 11203
Monday - Saturday, 7:00 AM - 7:00 PM, Sunday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM (Closed 12:00 – 1:00 PM)
NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Red Hook Recreation Center
155 Bay Street Brooklyn NY 11231
Monday - Sunday, 9:00 AM - 7:00 PM
NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull
760 Broadway Brooklyn, New York 11206
Monday - Sunday, 8:30 AM – 3:30 PM
Staten Island
NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health Vanderbilt
165 Vanderbilt Avenue Staten Island, NY 10304
Monday – Sunday, 8:30 am - 4:30 pm
Queens
NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst
77-04 41st Avenue Elmhurst, New York 11373
Monday – Sunday, 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM
NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens
82-68 164th Street Jamaica, New York 11432
Monday – Sunday, 7:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Antibody tests at urgent care and labs at varying prices
GoHealth Urgent Care
List of locations here
Cost covered by most insurance. Without insurance, you can get billed around $135 for the visit and test.
Statcare: Urgent & Walk-in Medical care
List of locations here
Statcare accepts many insurance options. Without insurance, the cost of an antibody test is a total of $200 - $75 for the test and a $125 visit fee.
CityMD Urgent Care
List of locations here
Cost covered by most insurance. Without insurance, you can get billed around $50-60 from the lab.
Labcorp
List of locations here
If your insurance covers the test, you will be charged $10. If you do not have insurance, you can be charged $42.13
Sources:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/should-i-get-a-covid-19-antibody-test
https://www1.nyc.gov/site/coronavirus/get-tested/antibody-testing.page
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2021/02/12/covid-vaccine-antibody-test/
Jacqueline graduated from the University of Virginia in 2021 with a B.A. in Global Public Health and is a current M.D. candidate at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Jacqueline has been working for Mira since April 2020 and is passionate about the intersection of public health and medical care.
