UW Health reminds public COVID-19 testing is still important

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) -The COVID-19 vaccination has helped bring the number of cases down, but there are still new cases. UW Health wants to remind the public that testing is a main part in tracking and containing the virus.

Getting tested is free and widely available. It is also the most accurate way to keep track of cases. Dr. Nasia Safdar, medical director and infection control from UW Health, stresses that there are people still unvaccinated and that COVID is still around.

“People still get sick with the virus and it’s important to make a diagnosis so appropriate treatment can be used,” Safdar said.

Testing will let you know if you have been exposed to the virus and if you should stay home to quarantine.

Dr. Jeff Pothof, UW Health chief of quality and emergency medicine, says that even though there are a lot of vaccinated people we still have to look out for the unvaccinated.

“We’re trying to identify who might have COVID , who they might’ve been in contact with, get those individuals isolated so that they can’t spread it to other people and that’s just a really good thing to do to try to decrease the rate of covid-19 transmission in your community,” Pothof said.

Even if you’re vaccinated, Prothof believes you should still get tested if you have any COVID-like symptoms in the case you have a variant that the vaccine couldn’t protect against.

“That would be exceedingly important to know because if that’s the case that means that people who are vaccinated may not be as protected as we think they are and we need to work on a booster shot,” Prothef said.

UW Health is offering free testing for their patients in Madison at 3819 John Wall Drive. The site is open seven days a week between the hours 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Check with your local health provider for additional testing resources in your area.