The City of West Hollywood is getting the word out that there are legitimate Free COVID-19 Testing sites throughout the city and warning the community about fraudulent COVID-19 testing sites sprouting throughout Los Angeles County as demand for testing is an all time high. City officials warn that the demand has led to scammers distributing and setting-up fraudulent COVID-19 testing sites, some of which are requiring those seeking tests to pay a fee and/or provide a social security number.
The City reminds community members that they should not have any out-of-pocket costs for a COVID-19 test or be providing their social security number. Free testing options are available, and public and private medical insurance companies are required to cover the cost of COVID-19 testing and treatment without charging any co-pays. The City’s Code Compliance Division is working in coordination with the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station to shut down scam pop-up testing sites. Community members who are concerned about illegitimate testing sites may reach out to the City by calling the Code Enforcement Hotline at (323) 848-6516.
Photo by Paulo Murillo for WEHO TIMESThe City of West Hollywood is getting the word out that COVID-19 testing is available for free to anyone in LA County, regardless of health insurance or immigration status. If you are experiencing symptoms or if you may have been exposed to COVID-19, visitwww.covid19.lacounty.gov/testing. Learn more about COVID-19 tests atwww.ph.lacounty.gov/covidtests.
West Hollywood community members should first call a healthcare provider for a COVID-19 test. For people who cannot get a test through a healthcare provider, free testing options include:
- COVID-19 Testing at Plummer Park – Los Angeles County coordinates a testing site at Plummer Park, located at 7377 Santa Monica Boulevard. The testing site is open each week from Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. adjacent to the West Hollywood Community Center at Plummer Park in the South Parking Lot. Tests are administered by Fulgent Genetics. Appointments are required. People interested in getting a test should pre-register for an appointment at la.fulgentgenetics.com. People getting tests should bring ID and confirmation number to the appointment.
- Pick-Up COVID-19 Testing Kit Program – Los Angeles County Health Services has launched a program to increase and facilitate access to COVID-19 tests. The program allows residents to pick up a PCR test kit and return it at designated locations, which includes the COVID-19 West Hollywood testing site at Plummer Park. Results will be available within 24-48 hours. For details, visit: https://covid19.lacounty.gov/la-county-pick-up-testing-kit-program.
- COVID-19 Testing at the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station Front Parking Lot – Free walk-up COVID-19 PCR and rapid testing is available at the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station front parking lot, located at 780 N. San Vicente Boulevard, on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Please note, this location is closed on holidays.) The lot has limited parking capacity; metered street parking is available nearby. No appointment is necessary. Testing is available at no cost to anyone four-years-old or older and is available regardless of insurance or citizenship status. Testing is sponsored by The Testing Co. and is hosted by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Community Advisory Council.
Photo by Paulo Murillo for WEHO TIMES- Los Angeles County Testing Sites Across the Region – If you are unable to secure an appointment right away and need a test quickly, there are many testing sites regionally. Visit: https://covid19.lacounty.gov/testing.
- Free Shipped At-Home Tests – As part of a new federal program, every home in the nation is eligible to order four free at-home COVID-19 tests. The tests are free and orders will usually ship in 7 to 12 days. Visitwww.covidtests.gov for details and to order tests.
- At-Home Tests for Purchase at Stores, Pharmacies, and Websites – Before buying a test kit online, check the website that is selling it and find out if the test is authorized on the FDA EUA test webpage. Learn about at-home COVID-19 testing by visit the CDC self-testing webpage or the FDA’s At-Home Tests webpage area.
Additional information, such as links to West Hollywood-area drug store chains offering vaccinations, is available on the City of West Hollywood’s website at www.weho.org/coronavirus in the Vaccines and Testing Information section.
Officials from the LA County Department of Public Health continue to remind community members about the importance of getting vaccinated, getting boosted, getting tested, and masking-up; these remain critical to stop the spread. For details, visit www.VaccinateLACounty.com. For people without access to a computer or the Internet, or people with disabilities, an LA County call center is open daily from 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. to help schedule appointments at (833) 540-0473.
Except testing is unreliable and can produce false negatives. It’s only useful in telling you what you probably already know, that you have Covid. Countless stories of people testing negative daily only to test positive the day after hanging out with grandma, thinking they were being safe.
SOME of the pop up testing sites are FAKE simply scams trying to make money and NOT legitimately doing ANY laboratory testing❗ Do know there are qualified people walking around to find the test scams with the Feds right behind them. For legitimate tests, results will be affected by timing of the test and infection. Every disease has an incubation period, so being tested on the day of infection, is almost guaranteed to be negative, because there won’t be enough viral particles in the nose or saliva to detect. The chance of a false negative test result decreases dramatically from… Read more »
Get tested! Get vaxxed!