This COVID-19 Antibody 'Test Cube' Is Coming To Tinton Falls

TINTON FALLS, NJ — If you shop at three well-known Jersey Shore outlets — one of which is Jersey Shore Premium Outlets in Tinton Falls — you're going to start seeing these COVID-19 testing cubes there this fall.

The cubes are owned and operated by QuestCap, an investment company. The company calls the boxes "QuestCubes."

The company confirmed to Patch these testing cubes are coming to shopping areas in Jackson, Tinton Falls and Toms River, home to Jackson Premium Outlets, Jersey Shore Premium Outlets and Ocean County Mall. The company expects the cubes to be in place by Oct. 15, at the start of a fall flu season.

Tim Shelburn, QuestCap's U.S. manager, confirmed to Patch that "Yes, cubes will be going there upon upcoming regulatory CLIA approval, which is in process. The cubes will be doing antibody tests and PCR testing."

CLIA stands for Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments, which is required by the Food and Drug Administration. PCR stands for polymerise chain reaction, and is the scientific term for blood serum antibody testing.

These cubes do not do the nasal swab testing to tell if you currently have COVID-19. They cannot test for a current COVID illness.

They only do the blood serum testing to tell if you have COVID antibodies. Antibodies usually appear in one's blood a few weeks after a COVID illness.

According to the Asbury Park Press, which first reported the cubes were coming, the cubes will be staff by three technicians, who will do a finger-prick blood sample. Your blood will then be analyzed digitally inside the cube and you will get results back the very same day or the next day, either confirming or denying the presence of COVID antibodies. You will get an email with results.

According to the QuestCap website, each antibody test at a QuestCube will cost about $60. Some places will take insurance, others will not, according to a spokeswoman for QuestCap.

QuestCap has a goal of putting 165 QuestCubes into shopping centers across the United States, and the first ones were placed in Las Vegas, according to this company press release.

“When flu season arrives this fall, everyone with a scratchy throat, above-normal body temperature, back ache or loss of smell will likely suspect they’ve got the COVID-19 virus and we expect that they will want to be tested. With this network of testing sites, we see ourselves serving that imminent need for fast and convenient testing services,” said Shelburn in the release.