From KOVE-KDLY Radio, Special to Cowboy State Daily
LANDER – Officials with a private commercial laboratory in Lander are seeking state approval to offer a different kind of coronavirus testing with a much quicker turnaround time than current techniques.
Officials at Lander Labs, which is still working to complete construction of its offices in Lander, said the company could be ready to test up to 900 samples a day.
Supervisor Annie Cook said the test detects antibodies created in the human body to battle the infection. The test can detect COVID-19 before symptoms are evident, Cook said.
Lander Labs is being created to study illnesses such as cancer, but is changing its focus during the coronavirus pandemic to work on the COVID-19 testing, Cook said.
Cook said the laboratory could be ready to start testing within three weeks, using samples collected from doctors’ offices and hospitals.
However, before testing can begin, the state will have to grant approval for the technique.
In a Monday interview with Joe Kenney and Maralyne Middour of Lander radio station KOVE-KLDY, Cook confirmed that the testing would provide results within 24 hours or less. The current testing of mucus can take up to 12 days to yield results.
Lander Labs plans to start testing in Lander and then to work with local and state leaders to take it statewide, Cook said.
Also discussed during the interview was the ability to use plasma from those who have recovered from COVID-19 to help others who are gravely ill with the disease.
Cook urged listeners to contact state leaders, including Gov. Mark Gordon and the Wyoming Department of Health, to urge them to appropriate more money to pay for more widespread testing of Wyoming residents.
