San Joaquin County Public Health Services (SJCPHS) has announced that the “Test to Treat” program is currently available in the county at OptumServe COVID-19 testing sites in French Camp and Lodi and through Carbon Health in Tracy. The availability of this program locally will improve access to COVID-19 treatments, especially for uninsured residents and those at higher risk for severe illness.
Test to Treat locations are where individuals can get tested for COVID-19, and if positive, speak to a health care provider about treatment options and leave with medication in hand if eligible. All sites accept walk-in registrations and both testing and treatment are free. Testing includes rapid antigen and PCR tests.
The following are times and locations where Test to Treat is currently available.
San Joaquin General Hospital (OptumServe), 500 W. Hospital Road, French Camp, Friday through Monday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; walk-in or pre-schedule at https://lhi.care/covidtesting or (888) 634-1123.
Lodi Community Services Center (OptumServe), 415 S. Sacramento St., Lodi, Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; walk-in or pre-schedule at https://lhi.care/covidtesting or (888) 634-1123.
Larch Clover Community Center/Larch Clover Park (Carbon Health), 11157 W. Larch Road, Tracy, Thursday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; walk-in only, no pre-registration available.
Treatments work best when given as soon as possible after COVID-19 symptoms start and before symptoms worsen. County public health officials recommend that residents at high risk of developing severe illness from COVID-19 be tested immediately after noticing symptoms to know whether to seek COVID-19 treatments.
The Test to Treat sites will have the oral therapeutics Paxlovid and molnupiravir (Lagevrio) available, which are antiviral pills that are felt to be effective against Omicron and all of its subvariants. Paxlovid can be prescribed to adults and children (12 years and older who weigh at least 88 pounds), while molnupiravir is only available for adults 18 years and older.
Both are authorized for emergency use for the treatment for people who test positive for COVID-19, have mild to moderate symptoms, and are at high risk for progressing to severe disease.
“We are happy to offer the convenience of getting tested and treated in one location and we’re thankful that members of our community will benefit from antiviral pills that can decrease their risk of hospitalization or death,” said Dr. Maggie Park, San Joaquin County Public Health Officer.
COVID-19 vaccines are also still available; go to MyTurn (https://myturn.ca.gov/) to book an appointment. More information about COVID-19 therapeutics is offered in the May SJCPHS Newsletter, found at the top of the homepage at www.sjcphs.org.
Meanwhile, Dr. Park recently provided an update for the county Board of Supervisors, noting that COVID-19 case rates, hospitalizations, and deaths are starting to slowly increase. COVID-19 case rates have risen from 6.5 per 100,000 on April 18 to 22 per 100,000 on May 23. This is likely due to the latest Omicron variant, BA.2.12.1, which is more transmissible than its predecessors. She added that, as of May 23, numbers for the county show a total of 171,099 COVID-19 cases and 2,233 deaths. Vaccination rate for the county shows 64.4 percent of the population fully vaccinated.
To view weekly updates of the county’s COVID-19 statistics, visit the San Joaquin County Public COVID Dashboard.
“The most recent dominant variant is more contagious than previous versions resulting in an uptick in COVID-19 cases over the past month. However, the current number of cases is most likely much higher because of underreporting by people who are taking rapid antigen tests at home and not sharing the results,” said Dr. Park. “We are currently in a surge with rising case rates and hospitalizations, but our hope is that deaths will remain minimal.”
