I know this has been discussed before, but I need to vent. It shouldnāt be this difficult or expensive to get tested in NYC, āthe city that never sleepsā. First, there are only 2 TTS locations to get tested at in all of Manhattan, both of which are 3rd party medical facilities. These types of facilities all charge draw fees and swab fees, which run around $120 above the standard TTS fee, and testing at a 3rd party location requires an additional $35 FedEx priority overnight fee, or $65 for Saturday delivery. And as I recently discovered, FedEx isnāt always reliable, so you should never trust them enough to test on the last possible day.
I know there are other ways of getting tested, but from what Iāve read, theyāre not always easier or cheaper than TTS and are not as universally accepted by providers.
Since I need to be tested for an important date Monday afternoon, I chose to get tested today. I booked a test this morning at the facility on 57th that Iāve used a bunch of times before. When I get there, they tell me theyāre out of ice and wonāt have any until Friday, so they canāt ship the samples to Miami for testing until then and therefore, canāt take samples until then. If I wait until Friday, I have to pay $65 to get the samples to Miami Saturday morning and if everything goes perfectly, I will be cleared Saturday night. But if anything goes even slightly wrong, my results wonāt be in until Monday night and my Monday afternoon plans are significantly less enjoyable.
So I call TTS and change my test location to the other one in downtown Manhattan. That was relatively easy, at least. Then I call the downtown location to make sure they can test me this afternoon and after waiting on hold almost 10 minutes, they tell me theyāve used their last test kit and wonāt have any more until Friday.
I call TTS again, and discuss my options. I can wait until Friday, come back to NYC, pay the extra $30 and hope for the best, or go to one of several locations in New Jersey today or tomorrow (too late in the day to be feasible today and Jersey is kind of far to go last minute tomorrow), or I can go to a very inconveniently located facility in Queens tomorrow before 1:30. I chose the Queens location tomorrow, and called them to verify they have test kits and ice, and now have to arrange some work and personal stuff around that. So I came into NYC today from the suburbs for no reason other than to get very frustrated.
Any friends located in NYC, you canāt test here tomorrow. Itās NJ or Queens. But please donāt use up the last test kit or ice in Queens. Please
TTS, you need a wholly-owned BioCollections lab in NYC that doesnāt charge any fees and tests same day. This is unacceptable.
. It probably depends where you are getting tested as well. I have never gotten a direct question, but I get a kick out of people behind the counter giving inquisitive glances (maybe it's just my own sub-conscious) trying to figure out who this middle aged man is lol.
