COVID-19 Testing

If you are concerned you may have COVID-19 or want to find out if you had the virus, NYU Langone offers diagnostic and antibody testing through our laboratories.

We also provide COVID-19 diagnostic testing for children. This includes a rapid COVID-19 test, also known as an antigen test, that provides results within 20 minutes and is available at select NYU Langone locations.

COVID-19 Diagnostic Testing

If you have COVID-19 symptoms—including fever, cough, shortness of breath, chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, or new loss of taste or smell—you can schedule a video visit with your NYU Langone doctor to discuss your symptoms and potentially receive a COVID-19 diagnostic test. You can also schedule a Virtual Urgent Care visit to have one of our care providers order the test for you.

After you complete your visit, your doctor orders the test, and you can then schedule at one of our testing centers through your NYU Langone Health MyChart account. Our testing centers are located at select outpatient locations in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Long Island. Please schedule an appointment in order to be tested. Walk-ins are not accepted.

During a test, a clinician uses a nasal swab to take a fluid sample from deep inside your nose. PCR testing detects viral genetic material if it is present in your sample. If you receive your test from NYU Langone, then results are available within one to two business days in your NYU Langone MyChart account, or by calling your doctor’s office.

COVID-19 Antibody Testing

An antibody test can help determine if you were previously infected with COVID-19 or have produced antibodies after COVID-19 vaccination. The test is conducted by drawing a small amount of blood, which is analyzed for the presence of antibodies—specific proteins made by the immune system in response to an infection or vaccination. An antibody test does not detect the virus itself and is not used to diagnose a current COVID-19 infection.

There are many types of antibody tests available, and it is important to know which test should be ordered. These tests look for antibodies to specific virus proteins. If a person has received a COVID-19 vaccine containing the spike (S) protein but has not been infected with the virus, they would have antibodies to only the S protein. If they were infected with the virus, they would have antibodies to the S protein and another called the nucleoprotein, or N. Our laboratory offers tests for antibodies to the S and N proteins.

It is not known at this time if having antibodies means a person is immune to the virus, or for how long they may be immune. Not having antibodies does not mean a person was never infected or exposed to the virus.