Frequently Asked Questions

The ST COVID 2020 KIT is everything you need to safely and accurately collect your saliva sample under teh supervision of a trained Pharmco Inc team member, in the comfort of your own home, or as a drive by in Torrance California. Once collected, the sample is shipped to Pharmco's designated laboratory for accurate testing, for the presence of the virus. Enclosed in the kit are gloves and saliva collection materials (patented sponge stick, specially designed collection pod and biohazard bag).

Yes, this laboratory developed test has been granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the Food and Drug Administration. This saliva test and saliva collection device are FDA (EUA) authorized for at home self-collection in the U.S. Molecular analysis of your specimen will be performed via RT-PCR MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry.

A COVID-19 antibody test will detect the presence of antibodies (IGM and IGG) which your body produces to combat a COVID-19 infection. If you test positive for COVID-19 antibody, that means you may have been infected by the COVID-19 virus at some time in the past or recent past. This test is useful for situation where you would like to know if you were perviously infected by the coronavirus. If you are interested in the antibody test, please contact Pharmco directly for an in person appointment. The ST COVID 2020 antigen test is different, it looks for the presence of the virus; for new or active infection.

Patients who self-pay will receive a receipt with the cost of the test. This can be submitted to the insurance company for reimbursement. Reimbursement will be at the discretion of the insurer. Patients should contact their insurer for more information, as each patient’s coverage and insurer requirement may vary.

You can place an order online, call Pharmco at 310-783-7450 or email Orders@Pharmco.us.com to order a kit. The kits are available for curb-side pick up at Pharmco or it can be mailed to your address for saliva collection at home. Collection of the specimen can be done at home under supervision of pharmacy via telehealth.

You can collect your own sample from your own home and we can walk you step by step virtually. Or if you would like to have your saliva collected curbside at the Pharmacy, please call in advance to make an appointment. Call Pharmco at 310-783-7450

Please review procedures with the Pharmacy when ordering or scheduling an appointment. There is paperwork enclosed in the kit which must be completed just prior to sampling. This completed form will be included and shipped with your sample to Pharmco's designated laboratory.

Do not smoke, eat or chew gum before collection at least half hour before saliva collection.

Collection of the specimen can be done at home under supervision of trained Pharmco team member, via telehealth. Please watch and review a sample collection demonstration video online at: https://youtu.be/WAmSBHcQ9o0 p(https://youtu.be/WAmSBHcQ9o0)rior to collecting your sample at home or at our pharmacy curbside. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAmSBHcQ9o0 The demonstration video will show how to place the patented sponge stick under your tongue to soak up the saliva. After 3-4 minutes, when enough saliva has been collected, the indicator dot on the collection stick will become a full red circle. The soaked sponge is then placed in the syringe where the saliva is completely squeezed out by pressing slowly on the plunger a few times into the collection pod. The collection pod with the saliva is capped and placed in one of the two enclosed biohazard bags. The other bag is for the empty sponge, plunger, gloves and any other materials. Place the biohazard bag with your sample and all completed paperwork, into the prepaid self-addressed FEDEX express envelope and take it to a FEDEX dropbox for overnight delivery to the Pharmco designated laboratory. You may do the collection at home with the guidance of the trained Pharmco team member via phone or telehealth. If you are choosing curbside collection, the pharmacist will guide you on the sample collection and will ship the samples for you to the designated lab.

On the instructions contained in the paperwork, log into the Verdesome website and register you and your family, if more than one person is being tested. Enter your email address, and the numbers and letters from the barcode into the site. When your sample is received by the lab, it will appear on the portal as received. Once your test is complete, you will receive an email informing you that your results are ready to be viewed. Log into the Verdesome site and you can download your lab report.

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If your result shows that the SARS-CoV-2 virus was detected in your specimen, then you may have one or more of the symptoms associated with the illness, including a fever, a cough or difficulty breathing, but keep in mind that some people who have been infected by the virus do not show any symptoms. Regardless of how you feel, it is important that you take measures immediately to promote your health and prevent the spread of the virus to others. For more information about what you can do for yourself and how you can reduce the risk to those around you, visit the CDC’s web page at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/testing.html.

That means the SARS-CoV-2 virus was not detected in your specimen. This is the virus that causes COVID-19. Your results indicate that you probably did not have an active infection at the time that your specimen was collected.

If you were at the very beginning stages of an infection, there may not have been enough virus in your system to be detected by the test, and it is possible that you could test positive at a later point and become sick. In addition, it is still possible that you can become sick from a future exposure to the virus. It is important that you continue to take precautions to reduce exposure, including practicing social distancing, handwashing and using personal protective equipment when and where appropriate.

For more information about your test result and COVID-19, refer to the CDC’s web page at https://www.cdc.gov/ coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/testing.html. Molecular analysis of your specimen was performed via RT-PCR MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for this test. https://www.fda.gov/media/143331/download