If you need to get tested for COVID-19, it’s safe to say that you might feel a little bit overwhelmed. Fortunately, urgent care clinics can perform a rapid COVID test or a PCR test for you. Here’s what you can expect when you go in for a rapid COVID test at an urgent care center.

You Don’t Need an Appointment

If you’re going to get tested at an urgent care center, it’s likely that you won’t need an appointment. Most urgent care centers offer COVID testing services on a walk-in basis. That said, it’s a good idea to call ahead if you’re experiencing symptoms. The clinic may have you make an appointment in order to reduce exposing other patients to a potential case of COVID-19. It’s also possible that they will ask you to wait outside until your appointment time. If you’re not experiencing symptoms and you’re getting tested out of an abundance of caution, most clinics will take you as a walk-in and have you wait inside for your test.

Wait Times Are Typically Short

When almost 85% of adults in the U.S. have visited an urgent care clinic in the last year, something must be going right. One of the biggest benefits of going to an urgent care center for a COVID test is the shorter wait times. In most cases, you won’t need to wait more than 15 minutes or so for a doctor or nurse practitioner to see you. So if you’re in a hurry and you want to get tested with a same-day appointment, it’s a good idea to head over to an urgent care clinic near you.

Rapid Testing Only Takes a Few Minutes

If you’ve decided that a rapid COVID test is the way to go, then you won’t need to wait around for your results for very long. A rapid test involves swabbing the inside of each nostril for a few seconds. After that, your doctor or nurse practitioner will take the nasal samples they collected to an on-site lab where they’ll be tested for COVID pathogens. You will be asked to wait in the examination room that you’re in for the results. In most cases, it only takes between 10 and 15 minutes for rapid test results to come in. Once you have your results, you can head home.

Investing in a rapid COVID test at your local urgent care is not only a smart thing to do, but it’s also incredibly efficient. If you have questions about rapid testing or you’re not sure whether you need a test, don’t hesitate to contact our team at Care Station Medical today.