“The business plan was to basically improve access to healthcare,” says Calgary-based Ichor Blood Services CEO Mike Kuzmickas.
The company had to pivot in the pandemic and has spread its services to doing clinics across Alberta and will be coming to Lloydminster February 14-17th at the Kinsmen Hall.
The pop up clinics feature a range of testing services as well as COVID testing. The tests from the community of La Crete northwest of Edmonton revealed according to Ichor that 89 per cent of the the unvaccinated there had the SARS-CoV-2 protein.Â
In mid-December, over 1200 people were tested. Kuzmickas looked at the meaning of the results in La Crete.
“89 per cent of them were positive for COVID-19 antibodies, meaning that they have encountered the virus and they have fought it off and they have some level of immunity. So whether we see that repeating, time will tell. We just finished Three Hills and we are in the process of getting results out right now. And Grande Prairie at 450-500 people will be the next interesting one to take a look at.”
Kuzmickas says that the results have not been peer-reviewed. They are seeking to collect information and allow for further discourse about immunity.
“I think the point of these clinics is that there’s conversations that need to be happening that should have been happening for a long time around natural immunity.”
He says they are going out to rural communities to further their investigation.
“Rural communities tend to be quite a bit tighter and social than urban communities. So if you are looking for places where the virus would have circulated more, it’s going to be the rural communities rather than the urban ones. Urban ones, everyone was really adhering to lockdowns and social distancing.”
Kuzmickas talks about the other blood tests they will be providing.
“They can do a vitamin D test. They can do a D-dimer test which is a check for blood clotting factors. They can do testosterone tests. Follicle Stimulating Hormone. They can check for Lyme disease. So we are bringing in a suite of products with us, but the main driver is the (COVID) antibody test.”
Another blood test being offered is the prostate health index, adds Kuzmickas.
The test costs $120 plus tax. Clients can access their results within 10-14 days.
The clinic times at the Kinsmen Hall are February 14th, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m., February 15th, 11 a.m. – 7 p.m and February 16th, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Residents can get more information on the Ichor Blood Services website.